India–Sri Lanka relations get push with high-level talks

Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan met Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo, discussing housing projects, Cyclone Ditwah aid and fishermen issues. The visit aims to deepen India–Sri Lanka ties under the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy

Colombo: Vice President C P Radhakrishnan met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake here on Sunday and held discussions on various initiatives, including the Indian housing project, and fishermen’s issues between the two South Asian neighbours.

Radhakrishnan, who arrived here earlier in the day on a two-day visit, also discussed with Dissanayake the ongoing Indian project implementation in Sri Lanka with emphasis on the USD 450 million Cyclone Ditwah aid offered by India.

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Accompanied by a 49-member delegation, the vice president was received at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and several other dignitaries.

Radhakrishnan’s visit is the first ever by an Indian vice president to Sri Lanka, officials said.
Radhakrishnan laid emphasis on India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and developmental bilateral cooperation, officials said.

“Both leaders held productive discussions on further deepening the multifaceted India–Sri Lanka ties, rooted in shared history, strong civilizational and people-to-people linkages,” according to a social media post by Radhakrishnan.

They held wide-ranging discussions on various initiatives, including the Indian housing project and projects being implemented under the USD 450 million package for areas affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, including reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the most affected regions of the Indian-origin Tamil community, it added.

The two sides also discussed addressing fishermen issues in a humanitarian manner, considering the livelihoods of fishing communities on both sides. The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka.

The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.
Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other’s waters.

Later in the day, he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya. A number of memoranda of understanding between the two countries are also scheduled to be exchanged during the visit, a Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry release said.

This visit, which follows recent high-level engagements between the two countries, is expected to further strengthen the millennia-old civilisational and people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka, an official statement said.