Indian President hosts banquet for his Sri Lankan counterpart

Wednesday, 18 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Pranab Mukherjee hosted a banquet for the visiting Sri Lankan President and the delegation at Rashtrapathi Bawan in New Delhi, 16 February

The Sri Lankan delegation headed by President Maithripala and Mrs. Sirisena received an impressive welcome at the reception

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee hosted a banquet for his Sri Lankan counterpart, Maithripala Sirisena, in New Delhi on Monday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders attended the dinner in the presidential palace, Rashtrapati Bhawan. The two neighbours had signed a nuclear energy agreement earlier in the day. This deal is India's first breakthrough with the new government of the tiny Indian Ocean island where China has been building ports and highways in a diplomatic push in recent years. Under the deal, India will help Sri Lanka build its nuclear energy infrastructure, including training of personnel, the Indian Foreign Ministry said Modi said that India and Sri Lanka civil nuclear agreement was a sign of mutual trust between the two neighbours. The agreement came after Sirisena met Modi for bilateral talks in New Delhi as part of his four-day trip to India. Earlier in the day, India's Health Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda, met his Sri Lankan counterpart, Rajitha Senaratne, and discussed health related issues. The two countries have also decided to work towards the contentious fishermen issue. Sri Lanka has long fumed over poaching and illegal fishing by Indian fishermen that it says deplete the catches of its own fishermen. Arrests of Indian fishermen have angered India's nearby southern state of Tamil Nadu and became a regional issue in campaigning for the Indian general election last April. The two countries also signed a slew of memorandums on agriculture, economic cooperation, cultural ties and connectivity. Sirisena earlier pledged to pursue a more global foreign policy in a break from his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa's pursuit of close ties with China, a key supporter of Sri Lanka's economy since its 26-year civil war ended in 2009.