Ex-Sri Lanka cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya thanks Jaishankar. Find out why

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya thanked S Jaishankar, India's external affairs minister, who is on a two-day visit to the troubled island nation, after he encouraged Indians to visit in a bid to boost tourism and generate revenue to combat the economic crisis.

Read here: ‘No exaggeration…’: Sri Lanka praises India for aiding in ‘regaining stability’

"Many thanks to the visiting Indian foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar for encouraging Indian tourist(s) to come to Sri Lanka. Looking forward to working together in the future."

Jaishankar, during his visit to Sri Lanka, met with the country's top leaders, including president Ranil Wickremesinghe. The minister was earlier in the Maldives.

In his statement to the press in Colombo, Jaishankar said, "Tourism is the lifeblood of the Sri Lankan economy. I note Indian tourists are expressing positive sentiments for Sri Lanka in a very practical manner by coming here."

"... but there are many more steps we can take to make this sustainable. Strengthening connectivity and promoting travel is therefore a very high priority for all of us."

Read here: Sri Lanka to cut recurrent budget expenditure by 6% in 2023 amid economic crisis

"Definitely, encouraging Indian tourists to make RuPay payments and utilise UPI would be most helpful in this regard," he added.

Jaishankar also discussed bilateral relationships, people-to-people contacts, trade and investment ties with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ali Sabry.

"A good meeting with foreign minister Ali Sabry and other ministerial colleagues this evening in Colombo. Discussed India-Sri Lanka cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity, energy, industry and health," Jaishankar tweeted.

India sent around US$ 4 billion in essentials to help the crisis-hit nation to regain some financial stability, Sabry said.