Modi’s visit amidst differences across Palk Strait

PRIME Minister of India Narendra Modi will reach the island for a three-day visit, marking his first official visit to the neighbouring state since the change of political power in Colombo last year. During the Premier’s visit, Sri Lanka and India are set to sign the first-ever bilateral defence cooperation agreement apart from signing an MoU for the Indo-Lanka electricity grid connectivity project.

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The landmark initiative aims to link Mannar in Sri Lanka with South India via an undersea cable, facilitating bidirectional electricity trade in addition to enhancing energy security between the two nations. The project has the potential to transform Sri Lanka into an energy hub, paving the way to export excess renewable energy to India and other countries in the region.

The official visit of the Indian leader takes place in the backdrop of Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Group, announcing its withdrawal last February from the much publicised wind energy project. The project, which was planned to generate 250 MW through the installation of 52 wind turbines in the island’s north, secured an investment pledge of $ 442 million from the Adani Group. Last May, the Cabinet approval was granted to pay 8.26 cents per unit for the wind energy venture in Mannar, and the determined tariff rate attracted controversas well as speculation.