New Delhi: Newly sworn-in Sri Lankan President held official bilateral talks today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi during his first official overseas visit after assuming office.
Here are the five key takeaways from the meeting
1. Resetting ties with Rajapaksas Gotabaya: Rajapaksa won the bitterly contested Sri Lankan presidential election this month and within a few hours of his oath-taking Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar landed in Colombo to congratulate him. Within ten days of assuming power, Gotabaya is in New Delhi on his first official overseas visit with both sides signaling the importance they attach to the India-Sri Lanka bilateral relation.
This cementing of ties and start of a new chapter comes amid skepticism about what the return of the Rajapaksa brothers means for the future of bilateral relations especially in relation to the China shadow that loomed large when Mahinda Rajapaksa who is now the Prime Minister, was the President of the island nation.
“The security and development of our two countries are inseparable. Therefore, it is natural that we should be aware of each other's safety and sensibilities,” said PM Modi in his press statement underlining the importance of a stable Srilanka in the Indian Ocean.
In an hour-long one to one and restricted format talks but no delegation-level discussions, the signaling was the start of new relations amid all geopolitical concerns. And an invitation to PM Modi to be the first foreign leader in Colombo in the new Rajapaksa regime adds to the messaging.
2. Strategic Cooperation With Development Focus: Infra India’s announcement of 400 million$ line of credit for infrastructure and capacity building development in Sri Lanka is crucial.
This will also be extended to community development and educational grants projects. Economic challenges became a key thorn domestically for former President Sirisena.
Hambantota proved to be a Chinese debt trap. But India’s focusing on trade and investment ties with development cooperation is to signal ‘mutual interest’ and prioritising what people want as key.
India has so far constructed 46,000 houses for the internally displaced in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka and construction is ongoing for 14,000 houses for Tamils of Indian origin in the Up-Country region.
A previously announced $100 million credit line during the International Solar Alliance summit will be further utilised for solar projects in Sri Lanka. In the annual budget, this year in July India had allocated 250 crores of aid to the closely located neighbour Srilanka whereas it went up to 1100 crores for Mauritius and 576 crores for Maldives in the IOR (Indian Ocean Region) leading to murmurs of some grudges in Colombo.
3. Terror tops Agenda, 50 Million USD Fund: Gotabaya who was the Defence Secretary to then President Mahinda Rajapaksa is no stranger to terror having defeated the LTTE after 25 years of civil war. Terrorism was a key issue in talks with India committing to 50 million$ additional Line Of Credit to Sri Lanka to combat the challenge and enhance intelligence sharing mechanisms.
India and Sri Lanka have increased intelligence cooperation in the past years with New Delhi reportedly tipping the former government about the possibility of the attacks.
PM Modi was the first foreign leader to visit Colombo soon after the deadly serial attacks across churches and luxury hotels in Srilanka on Easter Sunday this year. The National Investigation Agency conducted raids across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Odisha after the attacks and nabbed suspects to investigate possible IS operatives or sympathisers on Indian soil linked to the Srilankan bombings. India has been training Srilankan police personnel in counter-terrorism in its institutes.
4. Wooing Colombo With Eye On China: No joint statement is to be issued by India and Sri Lanka following the talks as there was no delegation component to it this time said sources.
But the optics of the foreign visit of Gotabaya have an underlining message for China which has expanded its footprint in India’s active neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Hambantota in Sri Lanka, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Gwadar in Pakistan are among the strategic ports acquired by China encircling India.
Beijing’s proximity to Colombo increased during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidential term when it unveiled the plans for the Colombo Port City Project at a cost of 1.4 billion USD.
India partnered with Japan to develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo port and today benefits majorly from the traffic. Chinese cooperation on the security front also increased with an aid offer of 14 million$ in May this year for procurement of China-made counter insurgency equipment and reported the supply of 150 vehicles for Sri Lankan police and a frigate to the country’s navy.
While Chinese presence in the region is a reality, India’s focus is to maximise people to people ties and closer association of its southern states with Srilanka to ensure Colombo does not slide further towards Beijing.
5. Message for ethnic harmony: Increased political representation of minority Tamils in Srilankan politics and implementation of the 13th amendment also figured in the formal talks. Tamil politics in Srilanka strikes a resonance with domestic politics in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The Rajapaksa brothers have been alleged of war crimes and presiding over serious human rights abuses of ethnic Tamils during the war against LTTE. Efforts at reconciliation increased during the past government but investigations into alleged war crimes were not proceeded into even by Sirisena.
PM Modi hoped the aspirations of the Tamil community will be met by the government in the majority Sinhalese country.
“We also openly exchanged views on reconciliation in Sri Lanka. President Rajapaksa told me about his inclusive political outlook on ethnic harmony. I am confident that the Government of Sri Lanka will carry forward the process of reconciliation, to fulfill the aspirations of the Tamils for equality, justice, peace and respect,” said PM Modi in his remarks.
Humanitarian concerns about the plight of fishermen and livelihood issues were also discussed at length. President Rajapaksa assured that steps would be taken to release boats of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody.
