Colombo: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe lauded the Indians living in Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka known as Colombo Expats Cultural Association (CECA) and their efforts towards the crisis-hit country during the COVID pandemic and economic fallout.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe during his speech highlighted how CECA has helped Sri Lanka in its darkest moment by illuminating the lives of underprivileged children during the crisis situation. He appreciated CECA's continued involvement and commitment to Sri Lanka.

"I must say I was following your activities. So all I can say is that in a moment of darkness in Sri Lanka, you are one of the lamps that have been lit," President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

Moreover, Wickremesinghe also emphasised how Sri Lanka and India share a similar culture in the region.

"India and Sri Lanka are two sides of the coin and while both countries have their differences in culture and religion, there are commonalities," President Ranil said.

Recently CECA organised a cultural event and fashion show on the occasion of Diwali. During the event, the President of Sri Lanka and the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay participated in making the event more memorable.

During the Sri Lanka Crisis, Standing in solidarity with the people in Sri Lanka, Colombo Expats Cultural Association (CECA) donated dry rations worth SLR 80 million to the Department of Probations and Child Care Services. CECA completed this massive donation end to end and ensured all the dry ration was delivered to the orphanages with a personal touch.

"CECA undertook a massive food donation drive when it received a request from the Ministry of Children Probation to support the orphanages struggling due to the economic crisis. CECA strategized this drive to support 10,600 children across 300 orphanages with 100 days of dry ration, including rice, pulses, potato and onions," CECA said in a statement.

People in Sri Lanka once again protested high taxes, inflation and perceived state-led repression in Colombo.

Sri Lanka currently faces its worst economic crisis in seventy years, leading to shortages of food, medicine and fuel. The island nation's worst economic crisis in seven decades led to a shortage of foreign exchange that stalled imports of essential items such as fuel, medicine, and fertilizer.