Will not permit Sri Lankan territory to be used against India's security interests: President Dissanayake

NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake 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.

Dissanayake , 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 Dissanayake 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.

"The cooperation with India will certainly flourish. And I want to reassure our continued support for India," he added.

Modi and Dissanayake underscored the common challenges faced by the two nations in the Indian Ocean and vowed to work together in countering traditional and non-traditional threats as well as to ensure a free, open, safe and secure region.

As a trusted and reliable partner, India conveyed its continued commitment to working closely with Sri Lanka in advancing its defence and maritime security needs and extending necessary assistance towards augmenting its capabilities to address its maritime challenges, according to a joint statement.

Asked at a media briefing whether the Adani Group's involvement in the Colombo port project figured in the talks, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said there was no such reference to it from either side.

Underlining the importance of connectivity, Modi said a decision was taken to initiate a ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar.

"We have jointly decided that, post the successful launch of the Nagapattinam - Kankesanthurai ferry service, we will also initiate a ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar," he said.

The prime minister said he and the Sri Lankan leader also deliberated on the fishermen issue and agreed that a "humanitarian approach" should be adopted on it.

Modi hoped that the Sri Lankan government shall fulfil the aspirations of the Tamil people in the island nation.

"We also talked about reconstruction and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. President Dissanayake apprised me of his inclusive perspective. We hope that the Sri Lankan government shall fulfil the aspirations of the Tamil people," Modi said.

"And that they shall fulfil their commitment towards fully implementing the constitution of Sri Lanka and conducting the provincial council elections," he said.

The Tamil community in Sri Lanka has been demanding the implementation of the 13th Amendment that provides for devolution of power to it.

The 13th Amendment was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.

Foreign Secretary Misri said PM Modi urged Dissanayake for "full and effective" implementation of the Sri Lankan Constitution for meaningful devolution of power.

The foreign secretary said Modi reaffirmed India's continued commitment to support Sri Lanka in its economic stabilisation efforts.

"He further assured President Dissanayake that India's approach would be investment-based and grant-oriented to reduce the debt burden on Sri Lanka and to assist them in generating economic opportunities that are long-term and sustainable," he said.

On the fishermen issue, Misri said it was agreed that the use of force must be avoided in all circumstances.

There have been instances of Sri Lankan naval forces firing at Indian fishermen in recent months.

Asked about Chinese military research vessels visiting Sri Lanka, Misri indicated that India took up the issue and that Colombo was looking into it. "We pointed to the importance and the sensitivity of our security interests and President Disanayaka was very upfront in saying that he would ensure that nothing was done by using Sri Lankan territory that might impact India's security," Misri said.

"We will continue to engage with the government of Sri Lanka on all these issues and we are confident that issues of importance such as these will continue to be given due care by the government of Sri Lanka," he said.

In the talks, Dissanayake thanked Modi for India's support in stabilising the Sri Lankan economy through "unparalleled and multi-pronged" assistance including emergency financing and forex support worth USD 4 billion.

The Sri Lankan president also acknowledged India's crucial assistance in his country's debt restructuring process.

"We faced an unprecedented economic crisis some two years ago and India supported us immensely to come out of that quagmire. It (India) has also helped us immensely after that, especially in the debt restructuring process," he said.

He further thanked India for extending financial assistance of USD 20.66 mn to settle payments due from Sri Lanka for projects completed under existing Lines of Credit.

On energy cooperation, the foreign secretary said there was deliberation on a possible trilateral cooperation among India and Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates on a petroleum pipeline project.

The two sides also inked a protocol amending an agreement between the two countries for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

An MoU was inked for training and capacity building programmes for civil servants of Sri Lanka.