India on Thursday said it has been at the forefront of extending support to Sri Lanka and will continue to do so.

The comments by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came a day after Sri Lankan Parliament elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country's President.

The 73-year-old Acting President won a parliamentary ballot days after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid escalating protests against his government over an unprecedented economic crisis marked by acute shortages of essentials like fuel, medicine and food.

"We will continue to stand by the people of Sri Lanka," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.

(With PTI inputs)
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