Page 3 - India-sri Lanka

PM Modi arrives in Colombo; aims to boost ties between India-Sri Lanka

The prime minister landed in the Sri Lankan capital after concluding his trip to Bangkok where he attended a summit of the BIMSTEC

PM Modi's Sri Lanka visit aims to counter China's growing influence

Investment in the Port City, seen as a micro version of the Dubai International Financial Centre, is, however, not a priority for India

PM Modi to visit Thailand, Sri Lanka from April 3-6 to strengthen ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-nation tour of Thailand and Sri Lanka next week with a broad focus on boosting regional cooperation under India's newly announced 'MAHASAGAR policy' and vision for a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. In the first leg of the tour, Modi will visit Bangkok from April 3 to 4 to participate in the sixth BIMSTEC Summit being hosted by Thailand. It will be the prime minister's third visit to Thailand, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. From Thailand, Modi will travel to Sri Lanka for a three-day trip to hold talks with top leadership of the island nation. "The prime minister's visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka, and his participation in the 6th BIMSTEC summit will reaffirm India's commitment to its 'Neighbourhood First' policy, 'Act East' policy, 'MAHASAGAR' vision, and vision of the Indo-Pacific," the MEA said. Modi announced the vision of 'MAHASAGAR' or "Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across ..

Sri Lanka court sentences Indian to hard labour over cricket match fixing

An Indian national was on Tuesday sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment by the high court in the central town of Matale in connection with a 2024 case of fixing a cricket match. Yogi Patel was charged based on a complaint by Upul Tharanga, chairman of Sri Lanka selectors, over a proposal to fix matches in the Legends League T20 tournament played in Kandy. Patel, who was tried in absentia as he had fled the country despite a travel ban by the court, was arrested in March last year and later released on bail in May under strict bail conditions. After he fled the country, his lawyers told the court that he had fled due to death threats. The judge had previously ordered the police's CID to issue an interpol warrant for Patel's arrest. Sri Lanka, in 2019, adopted the Prevention of Sports Related Corruption Act which carries jail terms up to 10 years and fines of over USD 5,50,000. Local media reports said the accused was also fined Sri Lankan Rupees (SLR) 85 million and ord

13 Indian fishermen return to Chennai after facing detention in Sri Lanka

Flights tickets from Colombo (Sri Lanka's capital) to Chennai were arranged for the fishermen, sending them to India after issuing temporary passports

Petitions against Adani Green withdrawn as firm cancels Sri Lanka project

Five fundamental rights petitions filed against the Adani Green Energy projects in the northeastern region of Sri Lanka have been withdrawn by the petitioners. The withdrawal comes after the Attorney General filed a motion following Adani Green Energy's notification to the Board of Investment about its decision to cancel its wind energy projects. Last month, the Indian conglomerate announced its withdrawal from further engagement in the renewable wind energy project in Mannar and Pooneryn. Fundamental rights petitions were filed in 2024 after the previous cabinet approved the project in May last year. The petitions pointed to the project's environmental hazards and the lack of transparency. The Adani Group left the project after the new Sri Lankan government led by President Anura Kumar Dissanayake decided late in December to review the project and renegotiate the power purchase agreement. The previous government-negotiated price of eight cents was considered too high, with the ..

How Dravidian politics has evolved beyond the LTTE over 35 years

Since the IPKF's withdrawal from Sri Lanka in 1990, the once-powerful ideology and influence of LTTE in Tamil Nadu has faded, with minimal electoral impact

PM Modi to visit Sri Lanka next month to finalise bilateral agreements

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Sri Lanka early next month to finalise agreements reached during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's visit to Delhi last year, a minister said on Saturday. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath made the statement while responding to a question on budget allocation debate in the parliament here. We have maintained a close relationship with our neighbour India. Our first diplomatic visit was to India, where we reached several agreements on bilateral cooperation," Herath said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive here early April," he added. Herath said that during PM Modi's visit, several new memoranda of understandings will be signed, in addition to the opening of the Sampur solar power station. In 2023, the state power entity Ceylon Electricity Board and India's NTPC agreed to build a 135 MW solar power plant in Sampur town of eastern Trincomalee district. Herath said the National People's Power (NPP) government's goodwill policy

Sri Lanka asks India to stop fishermen from straying into country's waters

The Sri Lankan government has requested India to prevent its fishermen from illegally entering the country's waters for fishing. Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayaka said the Indian action would be deeply appreciated by the people in northern Sri Lanka as fishing is the only livelihood for them. His remarks came ahead of the likely visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka next month. We know that India has been helping Sri Lanka a lot. But this help towards the people of Jaffna would be the greatest," Rathnayaka told Parliament on Wednesday. They have no other industry and if you go to Mannar and Thalaimannar you will see. Rathnayaka said India was of much assistance to the people of northern Sri Lanka during the country's armed conflict with the LTTE. They gave them protection and we are thankful to India for that," Rathnayaka stressed. The biggest service India, the Tamil Nadu government and, their MPs could do is to help the nor

India-Sri Lanka petro pipeline depends on economics, not politics: CPC head

A proposed multi-product petroleum pipeline between India and Sri Lanka will proceed only if economically viable, not based on political considerations, the head of Sri Lanka's national oil company has said. Deliberation on the possible trilateral cooperation between India, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates was held during President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's visit to India last year. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Chairman W A Rajakaruna told the Daily Mirror newspaper that currently the project is being assessed for its feasibility. "We will assess the project for its feasibility. We will press ahead only if it is feasible. We cannot decide on it over political reasons only," the report quoted him as saying. Rajakurana said he participated in talks about this with President Dissanayake last week. The project is part of the energy connectivity between Sri Lanka and India. There is a proposal for power grid connectivity between the two countries, according to the report. Accor

Indian envoy, Sri Lankan minister discuss boosting farm productivity

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha met Sri Lankan Minister K D Lalkantha and discussed opportunities for bilateral collaboration for the modernisation of agriculture in the island nation, according to an official statement. Jha met Lalkantha, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, here on Monday, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said in a post on X. "They discussed opportunities for India-Sri Lanka collaboration in agriculture modernisation in Sri Lanka, with an emphasis on raising productivity, technology and incomes for farmers," it said. Sri Lanka has a central place in India's Neighbourhood First' policy and Security and growth for all in the region (S.A.G.A.R) vision, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). India has extended overall assistance amounting to USD 5 billion through concessional loans/swap agreements and USD 600 million as grants to Sri Lanka under its development cooperation. These development projects extend to all 25 ...

SL Navy arrests 32 Indian fishermen, seizes 5 boats for suspected poaching

The Navy has so far this year arrested 131 Indian fishermen and held 18 fishing boats for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters, the statement said

India assumes chairmanship of Bay of Bengal Inter-Governmental Organisation

India has assumed the chairmanship of the Bay of Bengal Inter-Governmental Organisation at the 13th Governing Council Meeting in Male, Maldives.India assumed the chairmanship in the presence of senior government representatives from Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said in a press release.The event was part of the high-level conference 'Policy Guidance for Mainstreaming Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) in Small-Scale Fisheries', hosted by the Ministry of Fisheries & Ocean Resources of the Maldives government, in collaboration with the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO), that has been successfully convened from February 20 to 22, 2025, in Lankanfinolhu, Maldives.As per the Ministry, the Indian delegation was led by Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Department of Fisheries. He highlighted that India is committed to upholding and building upon the achievements of the Bay of Bengal

SL president Dissanayake says no regret over Adani exit from energy project

Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake here on Monday said his government does not have any regret over Adani Group quitting its green energy projects in the island. "We have got an offer to provide wind power at 4.65 US cents so why would we cry over losing an offer at 8.26 cents?" Dissanayake, who is also the finance minister, said without naming the Adani Green Energy during his 2025 Budget presentation. Adani last week announced that they were quitting the over USD 400 million investment for its green energy project in the northeastern region of the island. "There are those who are crying claiming an investor had left the country," Dissanayake said, referring to opposition criticism that the NPP government policies would scare away potential investors. Adani Group left the project after the Dissanayake government decided late in December to review the Adani wind power project and renegotiate the power purchase agreement. The project had also met legal snags with ...

Dissanayake govt unveils first budget, eyes 5% growth for Sri Lanka in 2025

The Sri Lankan economy is expected to grow at 5 per cent in 2025, President Anura Dissanayake said Monday while presenting the budget for this year. This is the first full-year budget presented by the National People's Power (NPP) government, which came to power in November last year. Introducing the budget, Dissanayake said a budget is a "reflection of the government's approach to building the economy and overall policy." He added that this year's budget intends to set a foundation of an economy where "all citizens are active participants, active stakeholders, and active beneficiaries," news portal Adaderana.lk reported. We expect the 2025 economic growth to be around 5 per cent, said Dissanayake, also the island nation's Finance Minister. He asserted that all fiscal measures would be directed towards the commencement of repaying the external debt from 2028. "...Growth in non-debt creating inflows along with robust economic growth and a primary budget surplus of 2.3 per cent of

Cong MP moves adjournment motion over arrest of 14 fishermen by SL Navy

Congress MP Manickam Tagore also pointed out that it is not an 'isolated incident' as in recent weeks, the Sri Lankan Navy has detained Indian fishermen on several occasions

Opposition MPs protest against arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka

Opposition MPs on Friday held a protest in the Parliament complex against Sri Lanka continuing to arrest Indian fisherfolk, and demanded that the government find a permanent solution to the issue. The protest was led by DMK, Congress and Left party MPs from Tamil Nadu and joined by parliamentarians from several other opposition parties, including Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Sudama Prasad of CPI(ML) Liberation. The protesting MPs held up placards with slogans that read "Justice For Tamil Fisherman", "Bring Back Our Fishermen", "No More Arrests", and "Tamil Nadu Fishermen Are Indians". DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said the matter of Tamil fisherfolk's arrest was a national issue as they were Indians being mistreated by Sri Lanka. "Many other parties also took part in the protest. It is an issue which should not be restricted to the state. They are Tamil fishermen, they are Indians," Siva told PTI. "Fishermen are being tortured, harassed and killed for years and the ...

Where strongman failed, women are fueling a democratic revival in Sri Lanka

When the country all but ran out of cash and fuel, the burden fell disproportionately on women, who shoulder the domestic load

Sri Lanka to renegotiate wind power purchase pact with Adani Green Energy

The Sri Lanka government will renegotiate the power purchasing agreement with Adani Green Energy for a 484 MW wind power project to bring the cost under USD 0.06 per unit, an official said on Tuesday. "We would want it to be below 6 cents US," government spokesman Nalinda Jayathissa told reporters here. The previous government's decision to sign a 20-year power purchase agreement for the 484MW wind plants at 8.2 cents US was disputed as local bidders had offered lower unit prices. Jayathissa's NPP had earlier vowed to annul the Adani green energy project. The new government in December decided not to sign an agreement at the purchase prices agreed by the previous government in 2023. The government refuted news reports that the Adani Green Energy projects in the northeastern regions of Mannar and Pooneryn projects are to be cancelled. However, the government-appointed committee would review the whole project. Adani Green Energy had also earlier rejected reports that the project h

5 Indian fishermen injured in firing by Sri Lankan Navy, MEA summons envoy

Five Indian fishermen sustained injuries, including two seriously, in an incident of firing by the Sri Lankan Navy in the proximity of Delft Island early Tuesday, triggering a strong reaction by India. The acting high commissioner of the island nation in New Delhi was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and a strong protest was lodged with the top diplomat. In its reaction, India said use of force is not "acceptable" under any circumstances whatsoever. "An incident of firing by the Sri Lankan Navy during the apprehension of 13 Indian fishermen in the proximity of Delft Island was reported in the early hours of this morning," it said. "Out of the 13 fishermen who were on board the fishing vessel, two have sustained serious injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the Jaffna Teaching hospital," it said. Three other fishermen received minor injuries and have been treated for the same, it added. Indian Consulate officials in Jaffna have visited the injured ...