In a top-level visit that came after 28 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Sri lanka has the potential to be India’s strongest economic partner and it will have the first claim on India in its economic development. Addressing the Sri lankan Parliament, Modi said: “My vision of an ideal neighbourhood is one in which trade, investment and technology flow easily across the border, where partnerships are formed with ease of routine.”
India, Modi pointed out, was one the fastest-growing major economies. He said neighbours should have the first claim on India. “I will be happy if India serves as a catalyst in the progress of our neighbours.” He quickly added to loud thumping of desks by the MPs: “First claim (among) neighbours will be Sri lanka’s.”
Modi said Sri lanka had the potential to be the strongest economic partner of India and assured that New Delhi would work to address various concerns to boost trade and make it more balanced. He spoke of harnessing the potential of the Indian Ocean and increasing cooperation in South Asia and boosting connectivity. He promised India’s commitment to development partnership with Sri lanka.
“We see it as the responsibility of a friend and a neighbour,” he said, and added that India had committed $1.6 billion to Sri lanka and today had committed $318 million to the railway sector. India and Sri lanka signed four bilateral pacts which included agreement on visa, customs, youth development and building a Rabindranath Tagore memorial.
Modi, reached out to Sri lanka saying the security of the two countries is “indivisible” and favoured a life of equality, justice and dignity for Tamils in its “new journey” of peace and reconciliation. Modi, who had discussed the fishermen’s issue, a major irritant in bilateral ties, with Sri lankan President Sirisena also said on Friday that it has both livelihood and humanitarian dimensions and it will take some time to reach an amicable solution on this.
“This complex issue involves livelihood and humanitarian concerns on both sides. We should handle it from this perspective. At the same time, we need to find a long-term solution to this issue,” he said in remarks that assumes significance following Premier Ranil Wikcremasinghe’s controversial statement last week that intruding Indian fishermen would be shot by Sri lankan Navy.
India has already conveyed its displeasure over the remarks when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Colombo last week. Modi suggested that fishermen’s associations of India and Sri lanka should meet at the earliest to find a mutually acceptable arrangement. It can then be taken forward by both Governments.
The first Prime Minister to visit the island after Rajiv Gandhi’s trip in 1987 after which the bilateral relationship had undergone several twists and turns, he said the two nations should build a climate of trust and confidence while remaining sensitive to each other’s interests. Modi met President Maithripala Sirisena and expressed his “admiration” for his efforts to build an inclusive future for Sri lanka. However, he made it clear that “unity and integrity” of Sri lanka, which fought a three-decade-long war with the lTTE over its demand for a separate Tamil Eelam, “are paramount” for India.
“It is rooted in our interest. It stems from our own fundamental beliefs in this principle,” he declared in his address to Sri lankan Parliament. The two leaders met at the delegation level after which four agreements that included easing of visa regulations were signed. Reflecting their desire to give a push to their economic ties, the two countries also took steps to simplify trade and reduce non-tariff barriers on both sides under an agreement on customs cooperation.
Modi also announced a fresh line of credit of $318 million and an enhanced currency swap agreement besides offering Indian assistance to develop Trincomalee town as a petroleum hub. At a joint Press meet later, the Prime Minister himself referred to the significance of his visit, saying it “helps us understand each other better, finds solution to mutual concerns and move our relationship forward.”
On his part, President Sirisena said: “We have seen the weakening of links between the two countries at different times of rule (in both countries). This is the reason why it took 28 years for an Indian PM to visit Sri lanka.” Voicing India’s support to efforts to build a future that accommodates the aspirations of all societies including Tamils for a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity in a united lanka, Modi said, “We believe that early and full implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond it would contribute to this process.”