India External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visits Sri Lanka to follow up on Cyclone Ditwah reconstruction efforts

Key facts

• External affairs minister S Jaishankar travelled to Sri Lanka as a special envoy of the Prime Minister for meetings with the leadership in Colombo to follow up on relief and reconstruction efforts in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah.
• India launched Operation Sagar Bandhu on November 28 and delivered hundreds of tonnes of relief supplies and critical early-recovery capabilities across Sri Lanka.
• Within the first three days of Cyclone Ditwah, 53 tonnes of emergency relief materials were delivered by Indian Navy warships and heavy-lift aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• An IAF C-17 Globemaster airlifted a modular Indian Army field hospital, including ambulances, trauma care units, operating theatres, and 73 personnel, on December 2.
• On December 6, another 997 tonnes of dry rations and other relief materials were transported by warships from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka.
• India was the first country to deploy trained disaster responders in Sri Lanka, and more than 450 people were rescued and assisted by these teams.
• The Indian Army’s field hospital, located in the Badulla district, has treated nearly 3,400 people.