India-Sri Lanka Bilateral Talks

Context- Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe  visited India recently. Bilateral talks were held between both the Prime Ministers at  Hyderabad House.

Key Highlights 

• Cooperation documents: 

• • • The parties exchanged documents on bilateral cooperation on animal husbandry, renewable energy, development projects in the Trincomalee region of eastern Sri Lanka and online payment services. 
    • The objective of the Trincomalee MoU is to develop the port and its surrounding areas “into a regional hub for industry, energy, including renewable energy”. 
  •  Digital Event Agreement: 
    • Lanka Pay and ECI International have signed a digital payments agreement to facilitate the launch of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Sri Lanka. 
  •  Connectivity: 
    • The parties agreed on a vision document to improve maritime, energy and people-to-people ties. 
    • Prime Minister Modi announced that a passenger ferry connecting Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai in northern Sri Lanka will soon be launched. 
    • India and Sri Lanka are exploring the possibility of connecting South India with Trincomalee, Batticaloa and other destinations in the island nation. 
    • President Wickremesinghe presented his ideas to increase the flow of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka. 
    • In this regard, the promotion of Ramayana route and Buddhist and Hindu pilgrimage routes were discussed. 

• The Thirteenth Amendment and the Dignity of the Tamil People: 

• • • India’s prime minister invited Sri Lanka to implement the 13th amendment and ensure a “life of respect and dignity” for its Tamil population.  
    • He also announced a development aid package for Tamils ​​of Indian origin who are celebrating the 200th anniversary of their arrival in the island nation.  
    • The prime minister also hoped that Sri Lanka would hold provincial council elections in the country. 

• Fishermen’s problem: 

• • • Prime Minister Modi said both sides discussed the issue of fishermen and demanded that the issue be looked at from a “humane perspective”. 

• India’s help during Sri Lankan crisis: 

• • Wickremesinghe expressed his government’s “deep appreciation” for India’s support  to Sri Lanka in the past year, which he described as “the most difficult period in Sri Lanka’s modern history”. 
  • India  also participates in the development programs of northern and  eastern  Sri Lanka. 

13th Amendment

• The 13th Amendment is a thirty-year-old Sri Lankan law that allowed the transfer of power to the nine provinces that have yet to be implemented.

Crisis in Sri Lanka 

•  Sri Lanka has been in economic trouble since last summer, when the country was brought to a standstill by an unprecedented energy crisis, accompanied by high inflation and near exhaustion of  foreign exchange reserves.

Problems of Indian fishermen 

• Indian fishermen face severely restricted access to traditional fishing grounds, increasing harassment by the Sri Lankan Navy, and arrest by the Sri Lankan Navy on criminal charges. 

India-Sri Lanka relations 

• • India and Sri Lanka share a heritage of spiritual, cultural, religious and linguistic interaction and the relationship between the two countries is more than 2,500 years old. 
  • Trade and investments have increased, and cooperation is taking place in the fields of development, education, culture and defense. In recent years, Sri Lanka’s significant progress in the implementation of development aid projects targeting internally displaced persons and other vulnerable population groups has helped to strengthen the bonds of friendship.  
  • The nearly three-decade-long armed conflict between Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE ended in May 2009. 
  • During the conflict, India supported the Sri Lankan government’s right  to act against terrorist forces. 

• Trade partnership: 

• • • Both countries have a vibrant and growing economic and trade partnership that has expanded significantly over the years. 
    • In 2020, India was Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner with  bilateral  trade worth approximately $3.6 billion. 
    • India is also one of the largest contributors to FDI in Sri Lanka. 

• Credit line projects: 

• • • The Export-Import Bank of India has extended 11 lines of credit (LOC) to Sri Lanka in the last 15 years. 
    • The most important sectors where projects have been implemented under these LOCs are railways, transport, connectivity, defense and solar energy. 
    • In June 2021, the Government of Sri Lanka and EXIM Bank signed a $100 million facility to implement cross-border solar energy projects in Sri Lanka. 
  • People to people relationships: 
    • Buddhism has been one of the strongest pillars connecting the two nations and civilizations ever since the great Indian emperor Ashoka sent his son Arahat Mahinda and their Sangam at the request of Sri Lankan king DevanampiyaTissa to spread the teachings of Lord Buddha. 
  •  Human Resource development: 
    • India now offers about 710 scholarships to Sri Lankan students every year. 
    • In addition, under the India Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, India offers 402 fully funded places every year to officials of various Sri Lankan ministries and also to other eligible nationals in short-term training programs for upskilling in various technical and vocational fields.
    • Indian institutes under the “Study in India” program offer technical expertise in various courses and include programs in niche areas such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Buddhism. 
  •  Defense: 
    • India and Sri Lanka conduct  joint military exercise Mitra Shakti and naval exercise  SLINEX. 

• Support during the recent crisis in Sri Lanka: 

• • Recently, Sri Lanka  faced an acute economic and energy crisis caused by a lack of foreign exchange. 
  • India provided an aid package of $2.4 billion in February and March.  India has also appointed experts to contribute to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and various joint ventures. 
  • Earlier this year, India extended  to Sri Lanka a 400 million dollar foreign exchange facility and a 500 million dollar credit for fuel purchases. 
  • In January 2022, India  also signed several important bilateral agreements with Sri Lanka, including the joint development of  Trincomalee oil tank farms and three major power projects in the north and east, including the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Adani Group, in addition to the recent  maritime security agreements.

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