New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar will go on a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka starting Tuesday. With China giving massive economic aid to India’s neighbourhood, from Nepal to Iran, India has stepped up its economic assistance to its neighbours as well as nations in the Indian Ocean Region, including Sri Lanka.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit with Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa on September 26. Ties between New Delhi and Colombo remain friendly despite the issue of Indian Tamil fishermen being caught by the Sri Lankan authorities, which the two nations are trying to resolve. India had said last month that “there exists a common understanding to handle the matter in a humanitarian manner”.
In a statement, the MEA said: “At the invitation of Sri Lankan foreign minister Dinesh Gunawardena, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Sri Lanka from 5-7 January 2021. He will hold discussions with his counterpart and Sri Lanka’s leadership on the entire gamut of bilateral relations.”
The MEA added: “This will be the first foreign visit by EAM in 2021, and also the first by a foreign dignitary to Sri Lanka in the New Year. As such, it signifies the priority both countries attach to strengthening their close and cordial relations in all spheres of mutual interest.”
China too has considerable economic interests in Sri Lanka, which is why observers note New Delhi is going all out to keep the Chinese influence at bay. Government sources earlier told this newspaper that India’s total development assistance to Sri Lanka now exceeds $3.45 billion, of which $560 million is in the form of grant assistance. India’s aid programmes in Sri Lanka focus on capacity-building, human resources development connectivity and infrastructure development.
Not surprisingly, India has undertaken numerous development projects covering all provinces in Sri Lanka. The sources said these “span a wide range of areas, from cultural conservation in the form of restoration of Thiruketheeswaram Temple to the construction of iconic landmarks like the Jaffna cultural centre to enhancing connectivity through restoration of railway lines”. India has also “renovated various schools, provided computers and created English language labs across the country, besides upgrading four vocational training centres in the island nation”. But it is the Indian housing project to construct 50,000 houses in Sri Lanka that is India’s flagship and largest grant assistance project in Sri Lanka.
