USAID Chief Samantha Power held a telephone conversation with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss the ways in which her organization could support Sri Lanka.

During the conversation, Power expressed condolences over the lives lost during the recent political unrest in Sri Lanka.

The statement issued by USAID on the conversation is as follows,

“Today, Administrator Samantha Power held a call with Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss how USAID is responding to the country’s political and economic crises.

Administrator Power expressed her sympathy for those Sri Lankans who were killed or injured in the political unrest earlier this month. She pledged her support to the people of Sri Lanka and committed that USAID would help the country weather the crisis. She stressed the need to urgently undertake political and economic reforms to gain the trust of the Sri Lankan people.

Administrator Power underscored that USAID is pivoting its ongoing programs in Sri Lanka to help address the urgent needs of Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable and marginalized communities as they experience the economic shocks, compounded by rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices due to Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine. Administrator Power assured the Prime Minister that USAID would closely work with other donors such as the IMF, the World Bank, G7, and others to support Sri Lanka during this extraordinarily difficult period.”