SL Prez: Won't allow anti-India activities

NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka will not allow its soil to be used against Indian interests, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Monday as the two sides agreed on measures to bolster strategic and security cooperation.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The Indian side used the meeting with Dissanayake, who is on his first foreign visit after becoming President in September, to raise New Delhi's concerns about the visit of Chinese surveillance vessels to Sri Lanka. Modi also urged Dissanayake to fulfil the aspirations of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority by fully implementing the constitution and conducting provincial council elections.

Dissanayake's decision to make India the destination for his first foreign visit is significant because his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party has for long been known for its anti-India stance. The National People's Power (NPP) coalition led by the Left-leaning President also swept the general elections in November.