NDTV Exclusive: What Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Seeking Re-Election, Said About India

1. “India and Sri Lanka have to have a close economic relationship. The vision statement that Prime Minister Modi and I had issued mentions this,” Mr Wickremesinghe, who is seeking another term as President, told NDTV.

2. Speaking further about areas of shared investment and development, Mr Wickremesinghe said, “India has a huge demand of renewable energy, as do we. That is an area we seek to strengthen ties. When the Singapore-India pipeline (via Andaman and Nicobar Islands) is complete, we too can look for opportunity in it.”

3. Other significant area that he said Sri Lanka aims partner with India for is to enhance port infrastructure and to get more tourists from India. “We want to encourage more investments from India and more tourists from India. We are working together with India on infrastructure projects like the Trincomalee Harbour,” he said.

4. Speaking about the social and cultural ties shared by the two countries, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said, “that has been happening for thousands of years”. He also said that the two nations share very strong people-to-people ties and that it is the people’s mutual regard and appreciation that is the bedrock of India-Sri Lanka relations. “There will always be some groups who may make anti-India remarks, what needs to be done is to minimise it. As far as the India-Sri Lanka friendship is concerned, it is decided by the people and they have already decided it. So, let’s further strengthen (the bond).”

5. India’s economy has “taken off”, the Sri Lankan President told NDTV, adding that Sri Lanka would also like to benefit from it, after all India is “just 20 miles away” and the two nations have shared deep cultural and historical ties. Mr Wickremesinghe further said that “Sri Lanka will deal with China as well to fulfill its national objectives, but at the same time, we will always keep India’s interests in mind.”

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