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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
Sri Lanka and India on Saturday pledged to work towards facilitating an enabling environment for trade and investment between the two countries and to deepen integration of supply chains, in the backdrop of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two countries also agreed to work towards early realisation of infrastructure and connectivity projects including in the sectors of Ports and Energy through close consultations as per the Bilateral Agreements and MoUs, and strong commitment towards a mutually-beneficial development cooperation partnership between the two countries.
Economic issues were among a host of other issues that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa discussed during a virtual summit held on Saturday. A joint statement was issued at the conclusion of the Summit with details on the talks.
The statement said that Modi had called on the Government of Sri Lanka to address the aspirations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and respect within a united Sri Lanka, including by carrying forward the process of reconciliation with the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Rajapaksa in response had expressed the confidence that Sri Lanka would work towards realising the expectations of all ethnic groups, including Tamils, by achieving reconciliation nurtured as per the mandate of the people of Sri Lanka and implementation of Constitutional provisions.
At the onset of the talks, Modi congratulated Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on his assumption of office of Prime Minister with a decisive mandate at the Parliamentary Elections held in Sri Lanka in August while Rajapaksa expressed his gratitude for the good wishes and conveyed his keenness to work together closely with Prime Minister Modi.
Both the leaders recalled the successful State visits by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to India in November 2019 and February this year, respectively, stating that these visits gave clear political direction and vision for the future of the relationship.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa commended the strong leadership shown by Prime Minister Modi in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic based on the vision of mutual support and assistance to countries of the region. Both leaders agreed that the current situation presented a fresh opportunity to give added impetus to bilateral relations and Modi reaffirmed India’s continued commitment for all possible support to Sri Lanka in minimising the health and economic impact of the pandemic.
The two leaders agreed on a number of measures to impart further impetus to the bilateral relationship and agreed to enhance cooperation to combat terrorism and drug trafficking including in the fields of intelligence, information sharing, de-radicalisation and capacity building and continue the fruitful and efficient development partnership in accordance with the priority areas identified by the Government and people of Sri Lanka and to further broad-base the islandwide engagement under the Memorandum of Understanding for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) for the period 2020-2025.
They also agreed to work together to expeditiously complete construction of 10,000 housing units in the plantation areas, which was announced during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Sri Lanka in May 2017 and deepen cooperation in renewable energy with particular emphasis on solar projects under the $ 100 million Line of Credit from India.
The two leaders also agreed to strengthen technical cooperation in the areas of agriculture, animal husbandry, science and technology, healthcare and AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) as well as skill development by increased training of professionals, thereby realising the full potential of the demographic dividend in both the countries.
They also agreed to further strengthen people-to-people ties by exploring opportunities in the field of civilisational linkages and common heritage such as Buddhism, Ayurveda, and yoga. The Government of India will facilitate the visit of a delegation of Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka in the inaugural international flight to the sacred city of Kushinagar, which has recently been announced as an international airport, recognising its significance in Buddhism.
The other agreements were on facilitating tourism by enhancing connectivity and by early establishment of an air bubble between the two countries to resume travel, bearing in mind the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and to take all necessary preventative measures, continue engagement to address the issues related to fishermen through regular consultation and bilateral channels according to the existing frameworks and shared goals including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and strengthen cooperation between armed forces of the two sides including through mutual exchange of personnel visits, maritime security cooperation and support to Sri Lanka in the spheres of defence and security.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa welcomed the announcement made by Prime Minister Modi of India’s grant assistance of $ 15 million for promotion of Buddhist ties between the two countries.
The grant will assist in deepening people-to-people linkages between the two countries in the sphere of Buddhism including inter alia through construction/renovation of Buddhist monasteries, capacity development, cultural exchanges, archaeological cooperation, reciprocal exposition of the Buddha’s relics, strengthening engagement of Buddhist scholars and clergy, etc.
During the discussion, the two leaders acknowledged the increasing convergence on regional and international issues of mutual engagement, including within the frameworks of SAARC, BIMSTEC, IORA and the United Nations system.
Recognising that BIMSTEC is an important platform for regional cooperation linking South Asia with South East Asia, both leaders agreed to work together to ensure a successful BIMSTEC Summit to be hosted under the Chairmanship of Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the strong support received from the international community for India’s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term 2021-2022.
The members of the Indian delegation included External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla and other officials of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs, including the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay.
The Sri Lankan delegation consisted of Minister of Foreign Affairs Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda, Justice Minister Ali Sabry, Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena, State Minister of Money, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal, MP Jeevan Thondaman and several senior officials.
