Thursday Jan 09, 2025
Thursday Jan 09, 2025
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| Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santhosh Jha |
By Charumini de Silva
Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santhosh Jha yesterday said the two countries have ushered 2025 with a deepened partnership following the significant progress achieved in 2024, a year defined by frequent high-level exchanges and commitment to fostering bilateral ties across multiple sectors.
“We open this year being extremely positive and buoyant on the India-Sri Lanka partnership. This bullishness is, of course, derived from a just-concluded excellent year for our bilateral ties,” he told journalists at the High Commission.
He said India remains Sri Lanka’s leading trade and investment partner with both countries adopting an investment-led growth model, whilst outlining key outcomes from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s official visit to India from 15-17 December 2024 which further boosted trade and investment ties.
The High Commissioner said the two countries agreed to advance discussions on the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) and enhance energy cooperation through key projects. “There is nothing beyond the joint statement regarding ETCA. The statement very clearly noted that both countries are continuing discussions,” he said, adding that the timeline to conclude the discussions would depend on the eagerness of both parties’ issues remaining to be solved.
Thus, he said imposing a timeline on the matter would be unrealistic.
The High Commissioner also highlighted that India’s support to Sri Lanka has been timely, quick and unconditional, emphasising its role as a responsible and friendly neighbour.
He opined that the relationship between the two countries was strengthened by India’s role as one of Sri Lanka’s largest development partners and a major contributor to capacity-building initiatives.
“The visit of President Dissanayake took this very robust partnership even further. President Dissanayake specifically thanked India for its strategic decision to convert loans to grants to provide further fiscal headroom to Sri Lanka,” Jha said.
Among these grants, $ 20.66 million was allocated to settle payments for seven completed line-of-credit projects, while $ 65 million was earmarked for the rehabilitation of Kankesanthurai Port in the Northern Province and $ 14.9 million for Maho-Anuradhapura railway signalling project.
Over $ 100 million of loans have been converted by India into grants,” he added.
The High Commissioner said this move has brought India’s total grant assistance to Sri Lanka to $ 780 million, with completed projects accounting for $ 390 million, ongoing initiatives amounting to $ 211 million and committed grant projects in the pipeline stand at nearly $ 180 million. The total value of new assistance overall stands at $ 391 million.
“If you take into account the value proposition of Indian grants, we should be the principal development partner of Sri Lanka,” Jha stated.
The High Commissioner reiterated that the partnership between the two nations have gained renewed momentum following the President’s visit, outlining several Cabinet decisions by the Government. It was approved to sign a MoU for cooperation on digital transformation solutions modelled after India’s success, Rs. 300 million grants to obtain vehicles for Sri Lanka Police, Rs. 290 million for rehabilitation of Karainagar boatyard in Northern Province and assistance for importing high-quality cattle for dairy milk productions.
The Indian High Commissioner also announced that India is set to implement 33 socio-economic development projects in the Eastern Province with a grant of over Rs. 2.3 billion.
Citing Sri Lanka as India’s closest maritime nation and has been an integral part of India’s Neighbourhood First Policy and India’s Vision SAGAR, he said this deep-rooted relationship transcends geography, and politics grounded in centuries of shared civilisation ties.
During the discussions about Chinese research vessels calling at Sri Lankan ports, High Commissioner Jha affirmed India’s confidence in Sri Lanka’s assurances.
“We take Sri Lanka for its word. The time will tell,” he said, underpinning bilateral relations.
In December 2024, President Dissanayake assured the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Sri Lanka will not allow its territory to be used in any way detrimental to India’s interests, acknowledging regional security concerns.
