New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asked President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe to make sure that the Tamil minority there get a “life of respect and dignity” even as New Delhi reiterated “full implementation” of the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution during a bilateral meeting held in New Delhi.
Wickremesinghe, who was on a maiden 15-hour-long visit to India since being elected as the President post ousting of the Rajapaksa regime following months of economic crisis in the Island nation, met Prime Minister Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“We hope that the Government of Sri Lanka will fulfil the aspirations of the Tamils. Will drive the process of rebuilding for equality, justice and peace. Will fulfil its commitment to implement the Thirteenth Amendment and conduct the Provincial Council Elections. And will ensure a life of respect and dignity for the Tamil community of Sri Lanka,” PM Modi said during his address to the press after meeting Wickremesinghe.
Modi also said, “The Tamil community of Indian origin is completing 200 years of their arrival in Sri Lanka. I am happy to say that on this occasion, various projects worth Rs 75 crore will be implemented for Indian-origin Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka. In addition, India will also contribute to the development programs in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka.”
The ethnic Tamil community is mostly concentrated in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka.
President Wickremesinghe said during the talks, he shared with Modi the ‘Comprehensive Proposal’ on the issue of Tamil reconciliation, power sharing through devolution and the multiple elements of the northern development plan.
He said the Sri Lankan government has sought a consensus to be achieved in this aspect at the Parliament post in which the legislation will be moved. He said India has supported this decision.
For the legislation to go through, a two-thirds majority in Parliament will be required, especially with regard to granting the Tamilian community police powers.
However, the issue did not find any mention in the joint statement that was agreed and signed upon between both sides since this was touted to be a ‘Vision Document’ detailing plans of closer cooperation and enhanced connectivity, said sources.
The 13th Amendment implementation issue was raised by Modi previously also during his meeting with former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Sea, Air & Land Connectivity With Sri Lanka
The visit saw a significant focus on the issue of enhancing connectivity between India and Sri Lanka in sea, air as well as land in order to boost economic and trade activities between both countries. Both sides also discussed the connectivity in the segments of financial services as well as energy.
“We agreed to enhance air connectivity between India and Sri Lanka. To increase business and the movement of people, it has also been decided to start Passenger Ferry Services between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and KankeSanthurai in Sri Lanka,” Modi said.
He added, “We have decided that the work of connecting the electricity grids between the two countries will be expedited. A feasibility study will be done for the petroleum pipeline between India and Sri Lanka. Apart from this, it was also decided to check the feasibility of a land bridge. Fintech connectivity will also increase with the agreement signed today to launch UPI in Sri Lanka.”
A ‘Network to Network Agreement’ between NIPL and Lanka Pay for UPI application acceptance in Sri Lanka was also signed between the two nations.
Speaking about the economic meltdown in that country last year when there was a massive shortage of food, fertilisers and fuel in the country, Wickremesinghe said the country faced “extraordinary challenges” that the Indian Ocean island nation faced.
He also highlighted said India's growth would be beneficial to the neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region.
Promising to bring economic growth and stability in that country, Wickremesinghe said, “I have set Sri Lanka firmly on a path of economic reform and that Sri Lanka is witnessing the outcome of these measures and the revival of confidence internally and externally.”
In an effort to obtain greater investments into the cash-strapped country, the President also met Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani. Adani is also already involved in a number of projects there. However, the most crucial project that the Adani Group was able to bag in 2021 was the development of the West Container Terminal in the strategically located Colombo Port, in which China is also heavily present.
According to the joint statement – Promoting Connectivity, Catalysing Prosperity: India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision – both governments will cooperate in the development of ports and logistics infrastructure at Colombo, Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai with an aim to consolidate regional logistics and shipping, as per mutual understanding.
Both sides agreed to resume flights between Jaffna and Chennai while also connecting the latter with Trincomalee, Batticaloa and other destinations in Sri Lanka.
India and Sri Lanka Friday also decided to work on the construction of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from the southern part of India to Sri Lanka “with an aim to ensure an affordable and reliable supply of energy resources to Sri Lanka.”
India, Sri Lanka Talk China ‘Challenge’
PM Modi also said Sri Lanka had an important place in both India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All) vision.
"Today we shared our views on bilateral, regional and international issues. We believe that the security interests and development of India and Sri Lanka are intertwined,” said Modi.
While Beijing continues to be a major partner of Sri Lanka, New Delhi has been concerned about Beijing’s encircling strategy. India has also expressed its reservations over the visits by Chinese spy ships in Sri Lanka.
Later in the day, while addressing the media, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “We are neighbours, we naturally have a very long-standing and comprehensive relationship. When leaders of the two countries meet it is very natural for them to speak about their concerns.”
The Foreign Secretary also said, “When we speak of the maritime domain and when India and Sri Lanka sit down they don’t talk of opportunities that exist of economic partnership that exist in the maritime domain, they also take a comprehensive stock assessment of the challenges that they face in the maritime domain.”
“These challenges, the nature of these challenges, the specifics of these challenges in our maritime domain were brought up appropriately during the discussions,” he added.