Foreign Secretary Shringla begins four-day visit to Sri Lanka with special focus on port deal

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will pay a four-day visit to Sri Lanka beginning Saturday to take stock of the overall ties and review the progress of certain ongoing bilateral projects. Announcing the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said Sri Lanka occupies a central place in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. “At the invitation of the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka Admiral Jayanath Colombage, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will pay an official visit to Sri Lanka from October 2 to 5,” the MEA said. “Sri Lanka occupies a central place in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. Foreign Secretary’s visit signifies the importance both the countries attach to strengthening their close and cordial relations in all spheres of mutual interest,” it added. Shringla’s visit is taking place at a time Sri Lanka is reeling under economic hardships and he is likely to assess whether India could extend any assistance to the island nation to tide over the situation. It is learnt that matters relating to the building of the western container terminal at the Colombo port by an Indian company are also likely to figure during the foreign secretary’s visit to the neighbouring country. In his talks in Colombo, Sringla is also expected to reiterate India’s views on the long-pending Tamil issue. India has been consistently calling upon Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitments to protect the interests of the Tamil community and preserve the island nation’s character as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. The Tamil community in Sri Lanka has been demanding the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that provides for devolution of power to it. The 13th amendment was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987. The MEA said Shringla’s visit will provide an opportunity to review “our bilateral ties, the progress of ongoing bilateral projects and ongoing cooperation to tackle Covid-related disruptions”.