India, Sri Lanka sign 4 pacts during Modi visit
COLOMBO: India and Sri Lanka on Friday signed four bilateral pacts — agreement on visa, customs, youth development and building Rabindranath Tagore memorial — during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first tour to the island country.
Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka is the first stand alone bilateral tour by an Indian Prime Minister since 1987.
“I am delighted to be in Sri Lanka,” PM Naredra Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that fishermen’s issue between India and Sri Lanka has both livelihood and humanitarian dimensions and it will take some time to reach an amicable solution on this.
Prime Minister Modi met Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and discussed bilateral and issues of regional importance.
The Prime Minister said his meeting with Sirisena has been very productive. It “gives me confidence and optimism about the future of our relations,” Modi said.
“The agreement today on cooperation between our customs authorities is a step in that direction. It will simplify trade and reduce non-tariff barriers on both sides,” he said.
Modi said the progress made by two countries reflects “our shared commitment to stronger economic cooperation”.
“Our trade has seen impressive growth over the past decade. I am aware of your concerns about trade with India. As I said in Delhi, we will try and address them,” he said.
Modi said India stands ready to help Trincomalee become a petroleum hub and announced that New Delhi will provide a fresh Line of Credit of up to USD 318 million for the railways sector in Lanka.
“This will be used to procure rolling stock, and to restore and upgrade existing railway track,” he said.
The Prime Minister also said that the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka have agreed to enter into a Currency Swap Agreement of USD 1.5 billion to help keep the Sri Lankan rupee stable.
He lauded the efforts of newly elected President Sirisena and assured him of all help from India.
“We stand with you in your efforts to build a future that accommodates the aspirations of all sections of society, including the Sri Lankan Tamil community, for a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity in a united Sri Lanka.
“We believe that early and full implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond it would contribute to this process,” said Modi, who is here as part of his three-nation tour of Indian Ocean island nations that took him to Seychelles and Mauritius.
Source: TOI
