Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday expressed his country's appreciation for the support India has been extending to the island nation during "this difficult period" and said he looks forward to further strengthening ties between the two countries.

Taking to Twitter, Wickremesinghe said he had a conversation with India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday.

"I expressed our country's appreciation for the support India has extended during this difficult period. I look forward to further strengthening ties between our nations," he wrote.

In another tweet, the prime minister said he is "grateful" for the positive response from India and Japan on the proposal made for the Quad members to take the lead in setting up a foreign aid consortium to assist Sri Lanka.