In a sign that Sri Lanka under its new leader, President Maithripala Sirisena, is shifting towards India as a partner of first choice, the island nation signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with India. This is the first time that India’s strategically located neighbour in the Indian Ocean has entered into such a cooperation with any country.
The agreement was signed in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and Sirisena who is in India on his first overseas visit as president. “The bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation is yet another demonstration of our mutual trust,” said Modi in a joint statement.
India’s recent understanding with the US in peaceful use of nuclear energy paved the way for the deal with Colombo, said sources. Sri Lanka’s readiness to sign the agreement is being seen as a breakthrough because its former president Mahinda Rajapaksa had repeatedly expressed concern over the likely impact of radiation from India's nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. The Indian high commission was required to assure Colombo about the safety features of the Russia-supplied reactors. The deal resulting from this turnaround is nothing short of a diplomatic tour de force for Modi and his foreign policy team led by foreign secretary S Jaishankar, coming as it does in just over a month of the new government taking charge in Colombo. In the meeting between the Modi and Sirisena , there was also focus on improving economic engagement. The two sides also decided to restart the long-stalled discussions on the services sector in the upcoming commerce secretary level dialogue. The current FTA is not applicable to the services sector. The two countries also signed an MoU to enable Sri Lanka to participate in the Nalanda University Project.
Modi said the destinies of India and Sri Lanka are interlinked and their security and prosperity indivisible. He welcomed progress in maritime security cooperation with Sri Lanka, including in the trilateral format with Maldives.
Modi said both Sirisena and he attached the “highest importance” to the fishermen’s issue and that there had to be constructive and humanitarian approach to it.
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