Sri Lankan territory will never be allowed to be used in a manner inimical to India’s security interests, says President Dissanayake
In Colombo on a one-day visit to a strategic maritime neighbour, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a series of high-level meetings with the country's new leadership to reiterate India’s commitment to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and development.

He called on newly-elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to convey warm greetings from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During their talks, he discussed ways to deepen the ongoing bilateral cooperation and strengthen India-Sri Lanka ties for the benefit of people of two countries and the region.

“Honored to call on President @anuradisanayake today in Colombo. Conveyed warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and PM @narendramodi. Appreciate his warm sentiments and guidance for the India-Sri Lanka relations. Discussed ways to deepen ongoing cooperation and strengthen India-Sri Lanka ties for the benefit of people of two countries and the region,” EAM Jaishankar said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. 

According to India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), their talks also covered security and defence and the meetings brought out that the interests of India and Sri Lanka were closely intertwined. President Dissanayake reiterated that Sri Lankan territory would never allowed to be used in a manner inimical to India’s security interests, the MEA stated.

The Sr Lankan President also shared details about the meeting on X, saying EAM Jaishankar had reaffirmed India’s support for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. The two also discussed the importance of continued bilateral collaboration. 

“Pleased to recieve Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar today, during his official visit to Sri Lanka. Discussions focused on boosting cooperation in multiple sectors. Dr. Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s support for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. The importance of continued bilateral collaboration mutually beneficial issues was also discussed.

According MEA, in his meeting with the President, EAM Jaishankar spoke about ongoing initiatives in the field of energy production and transmission, fuel and LNG supply, solar electrification of religious places, connectivity, digital public infrastructure, health and dairy development. He highlighted that they would contribute to economic sustainability and provide new streams of revenue. 

The Sri Lankan President said that India’s economic support is critical to realize his vision of a prosperous Sri Lanka and meeting the aspirations of the people. He referred to the potential of export of renewable energy to India, which could help reduce production costs in Sri Lanka and create additional resources. The President also noted the contribution of Indian tourists and recognized that this has the potential to grow further, the zmEA added.

Another important engagement was the one EAM Jaishankar had with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasurya. During their talks, they discussed bilateral cooperation in the areas of Digital Public Infrastructure, training, and capacity building. 

"Pleased to meet PM @Dr_HariniA today. Conveyed good wishes for her new responsibility. Discussed Digital Public Infrastructure, training and capacity building. Agreed to work together to advance our partnership," EAM Jaishankar said in an X post.

During a meeting with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, EAM Jaishankar conveyed India’s strong commitment to advance bilateral cooperation based on its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and SAGAR outlook. In this context, he assured that India’s ongoing development assistance to Sri Lanka through projects of Sri Lankan priority will be continued. 

The MEA said EAM Jaishankar emphasized that India has offered to modernize the Kankesanthurai port through a grant to the tune of USD 61.5 million. He also conveyed that payments for seven completed Line of Credit projects to the tune of USD 20 million could be converted into grant. India has also decided to gift 22 diesel locomotives to the Sri Lankan Railways.

The Indian External Affairs Minister used the opportunity to meet former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and thank him for his role in furthering India-Sri Lanka bilateral ties while he was in office. During their meeting, EAM Jaishankar assured Wickremesinghe that India was committed to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and development. 

“Glad to see former President @RW_SRILANKA today. Thanked him for his efforts in advancing our ties in the last two years. Assured him that India will continue to commit to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and development,” EAM Jaishankar said on X.

While in Colombo, EAM Jaishankar also met Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader and Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka, Sajith Premadasa. He thanked him for his continued support to the relationship between India and Sti Lanka. "Good to see SJB leader @sajithpremadasa in Colombo today. Appreciate his continued support for the India-Sri Lanka relationship," EAM Jaishankar posted on X.

Announcing the visit on Thursday (October 3, 2024), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the visit underlines the shared commitment of the two countries to further deepen the longstanding partnership for mutual benefit, in keeping with India’s Neighbourhood First Policy and SAGAR outlook.