PM on 3-day visit to Sri Lanka, key meets to focus on security, energy, trade
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in Sri Lanka for a three-day visit, during which both countries are expected to sign key deals in defence, energy, digital infrastructure, health and trade sectors.
This is PM Modi’s first visit since Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took charge last year. It also comes after Dissanayake’s visit to India in December – his first state visit since assuming office.
During this visit, PM Modi will be carrying forward India’s initiative to help Sri Lanka rebuild after the 2022 economic crisis battered the island nation.
He is likely to sign key agreements like the joint venture between India’s National Thermal Power Corporation and Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Electricity Board for a 120-megawatt solar power plant in Trincomalee that will address the island nation’s growing energy needs.
Trade, defence, and maritime security will also be on the agenda. PM Modi’s visit comes at a time when Tamil Nadu has passed a resolution to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka – an emotive issue for fishermen in the state due to the long-standing dispute over fishing rights around the 285-acre island.
On his last visit, Sri Lanka’s new leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who took office after the Rajapaksas were ousted in a mass movement, thanked India for its “positive and impactful role” in providing development assistance to the island nation amid its crippling debt crisis. Dissanayake was referring to India’s help in securing a much-needed USD 2.9 billion IMF bailout during the 2022 economic crisis.
Since Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean plays a crucial role in India’s maritime security, President Dissanayake’s assurance that it will not “permit its territory to be used in any manner inimical to the security of India… as well as towards regional stability” was seen as a welcome step by Delhi last year.
All eyes will be on the defence deal expected to be brought up today. If signed, the deal would mark a new chapter in India’s defence ties with its neighbour since the Indian Peacekeeping Mission was forced to withdraw more than three decades ago. With this agreement, New Delhi and Colombo would move strategically closer in terms of joint maritime surveillance, military exercises, and equipment support.
PM Modi will receive a ceremonial welcome at around 9:10 am, followed by a closed-door discussion with his Sri Lankan counterpart at 10:20 am. This will be followed by delegation-level talks at around 11 am. Around 11:30 am, the heads of both countries will sign key agreements, and PM Modi will inaugurate several virtual projects in Sri Lanka.
In the evening, PM Modi will visit the Taj Samudra Hotel at the invitation of Sri Lankan dignitaries. PM Modi is also slated to visit the Indian Peace Keeping Force memorial in the afternoon and lay a wreath. Around 7.30 pm, President Dissanayake will host a banquet in honour of PM Modi.