The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Sri Lanka and India is an initial document aimed at bringing equal mutual benefits to people of both countries based on mutual friendship, cordiality and brotherhood of both countries, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
“It can be used to reach an agreement on the development of various sectors and thereby accelerate development activities through it,” she said.
Swaraj said this during talks she had with visiting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in New Delhi on April 26.
“Since close relations and friendship existed between India and Japan and Sri Lanka and Japan, there were plenty of opportunities for India, Japan and Sri Lanka to join hands in carrying out development activities in Sri Lanka,” Swaraj said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe pointed out the need to strengthen relations between the two countries at various levels in taking such relations forward to the future.
These relations could be strengthened in the state, private enterprise, investment as well as education, culture, technology and social levels. Talks also centred on the Indo-Sri Lanka fisheries problems. Swaraj said the Union Government in league with State Governments had started a joint programme to prevent Indian Fishermen straying into Sri Lankan waters. Accordingly, those fishermen would be diverted towards deep sea fishing within the next three years and the training of the first batch of Indian fishermen in this regard had already begun,” she said.
She said the registration of the controversial bottom trawling vessels was being systematically scaled down.
The Indian Foreign Minister who appreciated Sri Lanka’s concerns about peace and free navigation in the Indian Ocean region, said arrangements had been made to conduct the Indian Ocean Conference organized by the Indian Foundation in Sri Lanka recently.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the chairman of this conference while Mrs Swaraj will be the co-chairman.
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