Big Ticket India-Lanka Deals Seal Strategic Ties

India and Sri Lanka on Saturday finalised crucial agreements to deepen defence and energy ties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised the close links between the security interests of the two nations.

- Rezaul H Laskar

COLOMBO:

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation, an umbrella framework document for intensifying high-level exchanges and joint exercises, was the outcome of discussions since Dissanayake's visit to India last December, when he gave an assurance that he wouldn't allow Sri Lanka's soil to be used against Indian interests.

Besides another MoU for linking the electricity grids of the two countries for power trade, India and Sri Lanka unveiled a tripartite agreement involving the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop an energy hub at Trincomalee, including a multi-product pipeline.

"We believe that we have shared security interests. The security of both countries is interconnected and co-dependent," Modi said a joint media interaction after his talks with Dissanayake. In this context, he cited a quotation from Tamil saint Thiruvalluvar: "In the face of challenges and enemies, there is no stronger assurance than a true friend and the shield of his friendship."