Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26 September held wide-ranging talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, covering the entire expanse of bilateral ties and with a focus on further expanding cooperation in key areas.
In his opening remarks at a virtual bilateral summit, Modi said that India has always given priority to Sri Lanka under its Neighbourhood First Policy and Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) doctrine. While speaking with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, PM Modi added that relations between India and Sri Lanka are thousands of years old.
PM Narendra Modi further said that he was confident that the massive electoral victory of the ruling party in Sri Lanka backed by the Rajapaksa government's policies will facilitate deeper cooperation between the two countries.
"An opportunity has come to begin a new chapter in India-Sri Lanka ties after your party's electoral victory. People from both the countries are looking at us with new hope and expectations," PM Modi said.
India announces grant of $15 mn for promotion of Buddhist ties
According to an Indian diplomat, PM Modi has announced a grant assistance of $15 million for the promotion of Buddhist ties between India and Sri Lanka. India will reportedly facilitate the visit of a delegation of Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka in the first inaugural flight to Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh.
Expressing gratitude, Rajapaksa said, "I express my gratitude for the way in which India worked for other countries during the coronavirus pandemic," and further added that the operation to douse off the fire on MT New Diamond ship provided an opportunity for greater cooperation between the two countries.
Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lankan prime minister for a fresh term on August 9 after his party, the Sri Lanka People's Front, secured a two-third majority in the parliamentary polls.
It was Prime Minister Modi's first such virtual bilateral engagement with a leader of a neighbouring country. For Rajapaksa, it was the first diplomatic engagement with a leader of a foreign country after he was sworn in as prime minister.
It was learnt that the two leaders deliberated on a host of issues like ways to further deepen overall defence and trade ties as well as expansion of existing cooperation in several key areas.
