President of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi speaks to WION

The visiting President of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi has thanked India for debt restructuring and termed it as the biggest outcome of his week-long India visit. He is the first head of state to visit India in 2023 and took part in the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Indore. Speaking exclusively to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, President Santokhi said, "I express my sincere thanks to the Indian government for resolving this issue on debt restructuring between Suriname and India." He also sought Indian support to "strengthen the capacity of our army, to make it a professional army" and highlighted how his government is in talks with "private companies who are in charge of producing defense equipment and materials." President Santokhi is the only world leader to take oath in Sanskrit and knows Hindi, Bhojpuri given he is of Indian origin. He said that he has invited PM Modi to his country to celebrate 150 years of arrival of Indians.