India, Lanka Ink Key Defence Pact; PM Honoured With Highest Award

Sri Lanka on Saturday conferred its highest civilian honour, the Mithra Vibhushana, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the award reflects the historic ties and deep friendship between the two countries.

- Agencies

COLOMBO: The award was presented to Modi by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during a ceremony at the presidential secretariat in Colombo.

"It is an honour for me to be awarded the Sri Lanka Mithra Vibhushana by President Dissanayake," Modi said, adding that this was also an honour for 1.4 billion Indians.

The honour was introduced in 2008 and has been bestowed on former Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the past.

India and Sri Lanka on Saturday inked an ambitious defence cooperation pact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlining a broader roadmap for deeper bilateral cooperation, asserting that security of both nations is interlinked and dependent on each other.

The defence pact is among seven key agreements signed by the two sides following wide-ranging talks between PM Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The defence pact, being seen as a major move to bolster strategic ties, came nearly four decades after the Indian Peace Keeping Force's intervention in the island nation.

Underscoring the long-standing bond between the two neighbours, the President said, "The friendship between India and Sri Lanka is very close... We are neighbours with deep historical, religious and cultural ties that go back over a long period of time and our time-tested relationship is built on shared values, mutual respect and common interests."