India to renovate schools ravaged by war, develop healthcare in north and east

Reuters: New Delhi and Colombo on Friday (February 05) signed two pacts to deepen bilateral ties during the ninth Sri Lanka-India Joint Commission, official said.

India has agreed to renovate 27 schools ravaged by civil war in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, along with the construction of a surgical unit in a local hospital.

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera signed the accord in the presence of officials from both the countries.

“The two MoUs (memoranda of understanding) that were signed in addition to the minutes - one was for the renovation of 27 schools in the Northern Province and another for the construction of a surgical unit and supply of medical equipment to a Teaching Hospital in Batticaloa,” said Renu Pall, senior official of India’s foreign ministry. India took up the issue of its fishermen’s arrest by Sri Lankan navy and the rights of minority Tamils in the island nation with Sri Lankan leadership.

Pall said that Colombo has accepted New Delhi’s invitation to Sri Lankan minister of fisheries to visit India to help resolve the issue.

“There was an agreement that we need to find an innovative solution. There was agreement that it needs a lasting solution and Sri Lanka has welcomed our invitation to their minister of fisheries to visit India,” she added.