Under new High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda, who eventually took charge here on August 30, a unified country strategy paper was drafted, which included frequent joint military exercises, more high-level military exchanges, India’s $50 million counter-terrorism- The use of and calling for an inhibited line of credit. Increasing the strength of the Defense Advisory Office staff.
The office of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner was lying vacant since January 2020. Moragoda was named high commissioner last year, but has now assumed his official duty. This period coincided with some serious upheaval in bilateral relations following Sri Lanka’s decision to unilaterally deport India and Japan from India. Colombo The port’s East Container Terminal project which was jointly agreed to be developed by the 3 countries in a tripartite agreement. India was then forced to publicly remind Sri Lanka of the need to comply with international commitments.
The Rajapaksa family’s apparent proximity to China has added to the “lack of trust” in recent days. Moragoda is now seeking to address this through a strategy proposal before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Outlining the important tasks for Sri Lankan missions in India, the resolution seeks to elevate the partnership to a strategic level by expanding bilateral cooperation in defense and Indian Ocean maritime security and asserts that this will protect Sri Lanka’s strategic interests.
India had announced a $50 million special line of credit for counter-terrorism activities in 2019, which, in the form of paper notes, is yet to be used by Sri Lanka. “It will be important to find out useful ways to utilize this particular loan assistance. It is understood that more lending to the defense sector is underway,” it says.
Major implementation tasks for Sri Lankan missions include securing and fully utilizing all training berths provided by India’s Ministry of Defense and exploring new training opportunities with Indian paramilitary forces and police.
While acknowledging that the trust deficit is growing due to “changes in the geopolitical balance”, the paper calls for a transcendence approach that dominates bilateral relations. One of its objectives is to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries through regular high-level political visits and to enhance cooperation with India at the multilateral and regional levels.
Another objective mentioned is to address the contentious issue of externally displaced persons. “The presence of Tamil Externally Displaced Persons from Sri Lanka in India, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu, creates complications in bilateral relations. Vested interests have exploited the sentiments attached to the Externally Displaced Persons for political gains, so that to strengthen his principles.
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