Mutual trust, sensitivity key for stronger India-Lanka ties, says S. Jaishankar

India is keen to strengthen its relationship with Sri Lanka based on mutual trust, interests, respect and sensitivity, foreign minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said in a veiled reference to New Delhi’s concern over increasing Chinese presence in the island nation. India will “always be a dependable partner and a reliable friend” that is open to strengthening ties on the basis of “mutual trust, mutual interests, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity”, Jaishankar said at a joint press briefing with his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena in Colombo.

He also acknowledged the immediate challenge of post-Covid recovery and “Sri Lanka’s interest in accessing vaccines from India”. Jaishankar is the first foreign leader that the Mahinda Rajapaksa-led government is hosting in 2021. New Delhi closely monitors Chinese inroads across sectors in Lanka, including in the strategic sphere that could detrimental to safeguarding its security and strategic interests in southern Indian Ocean. Jaishankar said New Delhi was ready to assist Colombo in enhancing its capabilities to meet growing maritime and security challenges in the Indian Ocean region.

“India has been strongly committed to unity, stability and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. India will be a dependable and reliable partner.” At his meeting with Gunawardena, Jaishankar said Indian businesses were keen to invest in Sri Lanka. “We've talked about special zones for pharmaceutical manufacturing and tourism,” he said at the press briefing.


He also spoke on the need to ensure aspirations of the minority Tamils are addressed within a united Sri Lanka, stressing India’s support for “the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka” and “for an inclusive political outlook that encourages ethnic harmony”. “India has been strongly committed to the unity, stability and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka,” the minister said. He also emphasised on the importance of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which is an outcome of India-Lanka accord of 1987 and assures a power-sharing arrangement with the island’s nine provinces. Sri Lankan leadership formally requested Indian assistance to obtain the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We are now looking at post-Covid cooperation and I carry back with me Sri Lanka’s interest in accessing vaccines from India,” Jaishankar said. He noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has given the two sides an opportunity to work even more closely together. Jaishankar is visiting Colombo three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit with Rajapaksa during which the two sides agreed to further expand ties in a range of areas including anti-terror cooperation, maritime security, and trade and investment.