Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa assures country 'will take steps' to release Indian fishermen's boats

Colombo: Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday assured that his country will take steps to release the Indian fishermen’s boats which are in the island nation’s custody. [caption id=“attachment_7663511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. AFP[/caption] Addressing media after holding talks with Modi, Gotabaya said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I discussed several important topics this morning. The discussion was  extremely cordial and reassuring. Among these the cooperation in regard to the security of our two countries took priority.” “We discussed in length the fishermen issue. We will take steps to release the boats belonging to India in our custody,” he added. Indian fishermen are apprehended by Sri Lankan authorities on a regular basis for allegedly breaching International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), the imaginary line in the waters between India and Sri Lanka. During his address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that New Delhi and Colombo have agreed to have a constructive and humanitarian approach in this matter of fishermen. “We also discussed issues affecting the livelihood of fishermen. We agree that we will continue to have a constructive and humanitarian approach in this matter,” Modi said. “I want to thank PM Modi for offering a fifty million dollar line of credit to enhance the capabilities of the intelligence agencies,” he said. He also said," With India, our cooperation is multi-faceted with priority given to security-related matters". Modi congratulated Gotabaya on his recent election victory and said it is a matter of honour for us that President Rajapaksa chose India for his first foreign trip.  “I want to extend my hearty congratulation to President Gotabaya for his election victory. I want to congratulate the people of Sri Lanka for successfully concluding the election process,” Modi said. “It is a matter of honour for us that President Rajapaksa chose India for his first foreign trip and gave us the opportunity to honour him in India within two weeks of taking office,” he added.