Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said that his country’s territory will not be used for any actions harmful to India. He made the remark following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
During a bilateral meeting between the two leaders at Hyderabad House, Dissanayake hailed India for its assistance to Sri Lanka during its “unprecedented economic crisis” two years ago.
PM Modi said that India has given Lanka grants and credit lines of about USD 4 billion.
They talked about “reconciliation and reconstruction” in the neighbouring nation, according to PM Modi, who also expressed optimism that the Sri Lankan government can fulfil the dreams of the Tamil minorities.
Dissanayake is in India from Sunday to Tuesday on a state visit. He arrived in Delhi on Sunday morning.
PM Modi pointed out that President Dissanayake’s visit to India is his first since Sri Lanka’s recent parliamentary and presidential elections.
Additionally, President Droupadi Murmu met with Dissanayake. After attending a business event in Delhi, the newly elected president of Sri Lanka will travel to Bodh Gaya.
The two parties inked agreements on capacity building, training and avoiding double taxation.
The visit has given bilateral ties new vitality and energy, according to PM Modi, and they will work on a “futuristic vision” that includes “investment-led growth” and physical, digital and energy connectivity.
In addition to discussing defence agreements and the hydrography project, they also talked about the Sampur solar power project, railway connectivity inside Sri Lanka, ferry and flight services between the two countries, the digital identity project and education.
The problem of fishermen must be resolved in a way that is both “durable” and “sustainable,” according to Dissanayake.
Modi highlighted the significance of counterterrorism, cyber security and maritime security as topics to be covered by the Colombo Security Conclave mechanism. They also spoke about doing visits to each other’s countries, including the Buddhist and Ramayana circuits.
“The visit of President Dissanayake to India shall further strengthen the multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries,” the MEA spokesperson had said on Friday.
The fact that India is the focus of Dissanayake’s first foreign trip after assuming office shows how much value the new president of Sri Lanka, who defeated the established political parties controlled by the elite, has placed on the partnership.
Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath are accompanying Dissanayake.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who travelled to Colombo less than two weeks after Dissanayake’s win, invited him to visit New Delhi. Since the September 23 commencement of the National People’s Power (NPP) administration under Dissanayake, Jaishankar was the first foreign minister to visit Sri Lanka.
