India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be here next Thursday to review the ongoing Indian-funded projects in Sri Lanka, including those in the pipeline, such as the Adani-funded wind power project in Mannar and plans for an industrial zone in Trincomalee.
In addition, the visiting Indian Minister will also explore further strengthening bilateral ties and connectivity between the two nations under the India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision signed last July..
The visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being sworn in as Premier for the third consecutive time last Sunday, just 10 days after talks with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was in New Delhi for the ceremony.
The visit comes in the backdrop of opposition to some of the proposed projects given to Indian companies and the impending elections in Sri Lanka.
Significantly, the visiting minister has also asked to see opposition SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa, in addition to President Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, and his counterpart Ali Sabry.
“He is coming here just to review ongoing partnerships in various areas, including renewable energy, tourism, and partnerships between the Central Banks and Finance Ministries. And also to prepare for the upcoming visit of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi to Sri Lanka,” Foreign Minister Sabry told the media this week.
Premier Modi is expected to visit the country in August once the formal arrangements are completed, according to sources at the Foreign Ministry.
“We feel that we want to continue to work with the Indians with their investment area, people-to-people contact, tourism, and connectivity, both land and electricity, and other areas of air, sea, and other modes of it,” Minister Sabry said on the nature of his counterpart’s visit.
Following the meetings with Minister Jaishanker in Delhi earlier this week, President Wickremesinghe took to X (formerly Twitter) to note that he had discussed with Indian leaders resuming development projects, plans for an industrial zone in Trincomalee, the new Economic Transformation Bill, the Truth and Reconciliation Bill, the progress of agricultural modernisation and ongoing fishermen issues as well.
With Sri Lanka caught in the middle of Indo-China rivalry in the Indian Ocean, the nation is also facing new geopolitical challenges to protect its interests and resources, including the latest claim by Indian authorities for rights to explore the seabed in areas that had already been claimed by Sri Lanka under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, indicating that the patch is within its continental shelf.
Meanwhile, several Fundamental Rights petitions are filed by environmental groups, civil society outfits, and concerned citizens, including the Bishop of the Diocese of Mannar, at the Supreme Court, challenging the awarding of the unsolicited proposal to set up the 250 Megawatt Mannar Wind Power Project by Adani Green Energy.
Questioning the purported contract and the characterization of the project as a government-to-government deal, the petitioners raised concerns about why the negotiated tariff was fixed at a higher rate for twenty years when the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out at a lower cost.
When asked about the Adani wind power deal, Foreign Minister Sabry said, “You need to consider it in a larger context. What we discussed at the beginning is not that it is government-to-government, but on the basis that those investments are from India.”
Source: Sunday Times Print edition
