External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
| Photo Credit: ANI

The visit of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Sri Lanka and his meeting with President Ranil Wickremesinghe has furthered bilateral cooperation and brought to the fore the wide scope and the agility of India’s development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission said here on Friday.

Mr. Jaishankar was in Colombo to participate in the 23rd Council of Ministers’ meeting and the 25th Committee of Senior Officials of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on October 11.

During this visit, his second in 2023, Mr. Jaishankar called on President Wickremesinghe and discussed a diverse range of areas pertaining to bilateral ties as the two countries are marking 75 years of diplomatic relations.

“Recalling the bilateral economic partnership vision statement issued during the visit of the President of Sri Lanka to India in July 2023, they (Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Wickremesinghe) agreed on the need to strengthen multiple dimensions of connectivity such as trade, people-to-people, and energy partnership, among others as outlined in the statement.”

“They also agreed to fast track priority steps for achieving the goals envisaged in the Vision Statement in a time-bound manner,” the Indian High Commission said in a statement. The visit brought to the fore the wide scope and the agility of India’s development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka, it said.

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“It was a pleasure to join President Wickremesinghe in his meeting with India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar today. We discussed, amongst others, strengthening our bilateral ties and also witnessed the signing of important agreements,” Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Ali Sabry posted on X on Thursday.

To mark the establishment of 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka, a joint logo was unveiled by the EAM and the Lankan President. The logo which is shaded with hues of the two national flags also depicts the national emblems and captures the spirit of partnership, friendship, and close ties between the two countries.

The High Commission statement also said, “Diplomatic letters for formalising an almost three-fold increase in the unit cost of a house from SLR 1.026 million to SLR 2.8 million under Phase-4 of Indian Housing Project for the construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas of Sri Lanka were exchanged” and added, “Soon, 1,300 of these houses shall be rolled out.” The Government of India’s decision to further streamline the implementation of nine ongoing grant projects by infusion of additional funds to the tune of up to 50% was also given effect through the exchange of diplomatic letters.

As many as 126 houses under Phase-3 of Indian Housing Project in Badulla, Matale and Matara districts were inaugurated virtually.

A total of more than one hundred houses constructed under Model Village Housing and Gram Shakthi projects in Hambantota, Jaffna, Matale and Puttalam districts were also handed over virtually.

Another outcome of the bilateral meeting was the Joint Venture Shareholders Agreement on Dairy Development between India’s National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation cooperative (also known as AMUL) and Cargills of Sri Lanka.

“This agreement is in pursuance of the Joint Declaration of Intent signed during the visit of the President of Sri Lanka, aimed at realising Sri Lanka’s self-sufficiency in the sector by drawing upon India’s experience,” the High Commission said.

At the IORA meeting, India assumed the role of the Vice Chair for the year 2023-25, ahead of the Chairship in 2025-27. The Council of Ministers’ adopted the Colombo Communique and the ‘IORA Vision 2030 and Beyond’, among other IORA-related documents.