Colombo: India and Sri Lanka on Friday signed four agreements on visa, Customs, youth development and building a Rabindranath Tagore memorial in Sri Lanka. While signing the agreements, Modi said, “I am aware of Sri Lanka’s concerns of trade with India. We are not just looking at solving problems but also to look for new avenues for cooperation. The ocean economy holds new promises for the two countries.”
Modi discussed the contentious fishermen issue with the Sri Lankan President M Sirisena. “We discussed the fishermen issue. It deals with the livelihood of people. We need a long term solution for this issue,” he said. Modi also announced a multi crore credit line for rail infrastructure in Sri Lanka.
Ahead of this visit, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe had warned that his navy will continue to fire at Indian fishermen who cross the maritime boundary and enter Lankan waters. “If someone tries to break into my house, I can shoot. Why are you coming into our waters? Why are you fishing in our waters? Stay on the Indian side. There will be no issue.”
RBI and Central Bank of Sri Lanka agreed on US dollar 1.5 billion currency swap agreement to help keep the Sri Lankan Rupee stable.
The Prime Minister’s visit to Lanka is considered to be an opportunity to further strengthen all aspects of the bilateral relationship.
Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister and only the second foreign leader after British Premier David Cameron to visit Jaffna in the war-ravaged Northern province, where he will hand over homes built with the help of Indian assistance.
This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
