Sri Lanka’s President and National People’s Power (NPP) party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will visit India from December 15 to 17, 2024, the foreign ministries of the two countries said on Friday, announcing his first state visit abroad since he won the presidency in September and his party swept the polls in the November general elections.
During his visit to New Delhi, Mr. Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “and other Indian dignitaries on a range of issues of mutual interest”, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.
President Dissanayake is also scheduled to participate in a business event in New Delhi aimed at “promoting investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka” and later, travel to Bodh Gaya, as part of the visit, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Development cooperation
The Sri Lankan leader’s visit to India assumes significance in the wake of his party’s resounding victory, with a two-thirds majority, in the recent parliamentary election and amid his government’s effort to rebuild the country’s crisis-hit economy. Mr. Dissanayake will also travel to Beijing soon, his government has said.
In the meetings scheduled in New Delhi during his visit, bilateral development projects and potential Indian investments are likely to be discussed, in addition to debt treatment as part of Sri Lanka’s current IMF programme. India’s proposals for greater connectivity with Sri Lanka are expected to be reviewed. Energy sector cooperation and the persisting fisheries conflict in the Palk Strait — Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu are frequently arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters — are also on the agenda, official sources said.
Also Read: Bottom trawling by Indian fishermen must stop: Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister
Significantly, the future of a controversial Adani power project in Sri Lanka will likely be discussed. Following the recent indictment of the Adani Group by a U.S. court, the Dissanayake administration said it is reviewing the wind power project that the former government had approved for execution in northern Sri Lanka. While on his campaign trail earlier, Mr. Dissanayake had pledged to cancel the “corrupt deal”, challenging the pricing formula in the power purchasing agreement reached without a competitive bid.
Turning a page
Mr. Dissanayake’s visit also turns a page in the complex story of Indo-Lanka ties, especially for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People’s Liberation Front) that leads the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) alliance. In the 1980s, the JVP militantly opposed “Indian hegemony” and the India-brokered Accord. Even as the party with Marxist-Leninist roots refashioned itself, Mr. Dissanayake has repeatedly sought to allay fears of “anti-Indian” sentiments.
Also read: Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna: From underground to government
“The world has changed, our party has also changed,” he told The Hindu in a 2023 interview. “We do know that India, who is our closest neighbour, has become a major political and economic centre,” he had said. Further, Mr. Dissanayake’s election manifesto stated: “We shall not allow any country or institution to use Sri Lanka’s land, sea and air spaces to threaten or risk the national security of any country in the region including India.”
Appearing to recognise this shift and the surge in Mr. Dissanayake’s popularity among Sri Lankans, the Government of India invited him early this year. During his five-day, three-city visit in February 2024, Mr. Dissanayake met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in New Delhi.
Published – December 13, 2024 10:31 pm IST
