Sri Lanka, China hold talks on post-cyclone recovery, reconstruction

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss recovery efforts after Cyclone Ditwah, which killed over 600 people. China is among several countries assisting Sri Lanka’s reconstruction and rehabilitation process.

Colombo: Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath on Monday held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, focusing on the cyclone-hit island nation’s recovery and reconstruction.

Wang arrived in Sri Lanka earlier in the day, officials from the Foreign Ministry said, adding that he made a brief stopover on his way back home from a visit to South Africa.

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Herath received Wang, and the two held brief bilateral talks centring on Sri Lanka’s recovery and reconstruction, officials said. Sri Lanka was hit by Cyclone Ditwah in November, causing widespread flooding and landslides, which resulted in over 600 deaths.

The cyclone wreaked havoc in the island nation and severely strained Sri Lanka’s disaster-response capacity, and various countries, including China, are assisting in the rehabilitation process. India was the first country to respond to Sri Lanka’s international appeal for assistance under its Operation Sagar Bandhu.