American-Sri Lankan Rapprochement: Post-Independence (1948-1951)

Abstract

This research sheds light on the beginning of official relations between the United States of America and Sri Lanka after its independence in 1948. These relations were characterized by friendliness and convergence between the two countries. Sri Lanka held strategic importance for the United States, and what distinguished this period was the American administration's desire to provide assistance to the Sri Lankan government as part of the containment policy and the Fourth Point Program it adopted during the Cold War, out of fear of Sri Lanka aligning with the Soviet Union.