Indian Foreign Minister to visit Sri Lanka

Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna is to make an official visit to Sri Lanka on 16 January to discuss bilateral relations and security in the region.

The Government web site news.lk said that in an interview given to the Indian Journal Business Standards, Krishna has said that the Indian Government has never provided overt or covert assistance to any group in Sri Lanka in order to maintain bilateral relations with Sri Lanka, and security wise, India is dependent on Sri Lanka.

He has said that there are large security concerns that can affect both countries in the Indian Ocean, and hence India would like to continue to keep on the right side of Sri Lanka.

He has told Business Times that India is assisting Sri Lanka in the rehabilitation of displaced persons, and he looks forward to his forthcoming visit to Sri Lanka to ensure the relationship between both countries firmly anchored.

Meanwhile, Minister of Irrigation and Water Management Nimal Siripala de Silva, Head of the Government delegation for talks with the Tamil National Alliance, has said neither India nor other countries can dictate how Sri Lanka should be governed.

Minister de Silva has told the BBC that India has nothing to do with land and police powers and has denied the claims that Sri Lanka is under pressure from India to devolve more powers to provinces.

 President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a recent meeting with newspaper editors clarified that the Government would not devolve land and police powers to the regions, in line with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

(news.lk)