It was in Sri Lanka’s own interest that the expectations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united Sri Lanka should be fulfilled and Delhi insisted on the importance of the 13th Amendment in fulfilling those expectations, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said yesterday during a Joint Press Conference with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

He said: “That applies equally to the commitments made by the Sri Lankan government on meaningful devolution including the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The progress and prosperity of Sri Lanka will surely be advanced as a consequence.”

Highlighting that India and Sri Lanka had a shared interest in ensuring maritime security and safety, Jaishankar also offered Indian assistance to enhance Sri Lanka’s capabilities to meet growing maritime and security challenges.

“We have a long history of cooperation in this regard. India has been the first responder in emergency situations. I am confident that this domain of cooperation will continue to expand in the days ahead. We stand ready to enhance Sri Lanka’s capabilities to meet growing maritime and security challenges,” he said.

Indian External Affairs Minister also said that India was looking forward to an early return of their fishermen to the seas around Sri Lanka and that he hopes that issues regarding fishing disputes between the two nations could be sorted during the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group.

“We naturally look forward to an early return of our fishermen. I will also be meeting Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda later this afternoon to discuss this further.”

Jaishankar also said that India had been strongly committed to the unity, stability and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and that COVID-19 had not been able to dent the bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

He said: “High level contacts were maintained and indeed strengthened during the past year and the Virtual Bilateral Summit between PM Modi and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was a high watermark for us in 2020. I carry the message of an India that will always be a dependable partner and reliable friend, open to strengthening its relationship with Sri Lanka on the basis of mutual trust, mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity.”

Jaishankar also said that both nations were now facing the immediate challenge of post-COVID recovery and that it was not just a public health issue but equally, a crisis of the economy.

“The Indian economy has also shown strong signs of recovery in the last few months. We are very confident that this will be full-blown by the next quarter. These developments will obviously have a positive impact on Sri Lanka. At the same time, there are specific challenges that need addressing, whether it is in finance or in trade. My visit is aimed at facilitating that process. We are now looking at post-COVID cooperation and I carry back with me Sri Lanka’s interest in accessing vaccines from India,” he said.

Minister Gunawardena observed that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had said that he was committed to the wellbeing progress and opportunities of all our citizens Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, etc.

“During our talks, we focused on multiple areas of mutual cooperation in the identified sectors of economics, finance, trade, commerce, defence, security and fisheries, cultural and particularly on the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and the post COVID era that we are moving forward to and efforts we have jointly taken since the outbreak last year,” he said.

Gunawardena said that the Indian Government’s “Neighbourhood First” policy made a very positive impact on Sri Lankan health sector and the economy during the critical period of unprecedented crisis and also extended assistance to repatriate Sri Lankans, pilgrims, students and medically concerned.

Gunawardena said: “My delegation sought India’s partnership for our economic revival, stability through enhanced investments in different sectors of the economy. Of course, as close neighbours and being littoral states of the Indian Ocean, we discussed defence and security related matters, as well as the issues related to maritime and fisheries sectors.”