New Delhi, Dec 16: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka on Monday categorically conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the island nation will not allow its territory to be used against India’s security interests, an assurance that came amid concerns in New Delhi over China’s attempts to increase its military influence over Colombo.
Disanayaka, on a three-day visit to India, held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Modi that saw both sides deciding to soon conclude a defence cooperation agreement and ramp up energy ties by establishing electricity grid connectivity and multi-product petroleum pipelines.
In his media statement, Prime Minister Modi said he and the Sri Lankan president were in “full agreement” that the security interests of both countries are interconnected and it was decided to quickly finalise the security cooperation agreement.
The docking of Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship ‘Yuan Wang’ at Hambantota port in August 2022 had triggered a diplomatic row between India and Sri Lanka. Another Chinese warship docked at the Colombo port in August last year.
In the meeting, Modi conveyed to Disanayaka India’s consistent support to the island nation in its quest for economic recovery and stability. Sri Lanka was reeling under a massive economic crisis two years back and India extended financial assistance worth USD 4 billion to the country. The two leaders instructed officials to finalise discussions on the bilateral MoU on debt restructuring.
“We have adopted a futuristic vision for our partnership. We have laid emphasis on investment-led growth and connectivity in our economic partnership,” Modi said.
“We have decided that physical, digital and energy connectivity shall be the key pillars of our partnership. We shall work towards establishing electricity-grid connectivity and multi-product petroleum pipelines between both the nations,” he added.
In his remarks, the Sri Lankan leader said the Indian prime minister has given an assurance to always protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.
“I have also given an assurance to the prime minister that we will not allow our land to be used in any way in a manner that is detrimental to the interests of India,” he said. (PTI)
