Indian National Security Adviser calls on Prime Minister

Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval yesterday called on the Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo.

Doval led a high-level delegation comprising Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha, Additional Secretary Puneet Agrawal and senior officials Akshay Joshi, Gaurav Ahluwalia and Teja Chandan.

During the discussion, Doval said there is immense potential for India and Sri Lanka to further strengthen economic cooperation and it is for mutual benefit considering the aspect of complementarily in bilateral ties.

He also said that India wanted to further expand cooperation with Sri Lanka and sought the Prime Minister’s views on priority requirements.

The Prime Minister said the energy sector is one area and thanked India for supporting the large and small scale alternative energy projects. 

He said that the Government has taken steps to amend the Ceylon Electricity Board regulations to facilitate private sector participation in electricity generation and distribution and Indian investments could be increased in solar and wind power projects.

Doval said in the long run, Sri Lanka could generate more power than its domestic requirement and sell excess power to India and gain huge financial benefits. He pointed out that Bhutan is selling large amount of hydro power generated electricity to India, and it is the largest revenue of that country.

The Prime Minister said, Sri Lanka’s Theravada economic policy is based on the economic practices in India 25 centuries ago during the time of Gauthama Buddha and it would be complementary for economic growth.

He thanked India for providing training for the armed forces members and public servants to enhance their skills and efficiency.

Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake, Additional Secretary Harsha Wijewardene and Adviser Sugeeswara Senadhira also took part in the discussion.