COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions along with his Sri Lankan counterpart Saturday on an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific area within the first-ever go to by a French chief to the Indian Ocean island nation.

As the fourth-largest creditor to Sri Lanka, France had pledged cooperation in debt restructuring to assist the island nation get better from its financial disaster.

Macron arrived in Sri Lanka Friday evening, following his journey to the South Pacific area, to mark the seventy fifth anniversary of diplomatic relations between the 2 nations, Sri Lanka’s president’s workplace stated.

Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe praised France’s vital position in world affairs, notably in areas equivalent to local weather mitigation, world debt restructuring, and issues associated to the Indo-Pacific area, the assertion stated.

“Sri Lanka and France are two Indian Ocean nations that share the same goal: an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In Colombo we confirmed it: strengthened by 75 years of diplomatic relations, we can open a new era of our partnership,” Macron stated in a Twitter message after the assembly.

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