With a Joint Statement on Economic Cooperation, India and Sri Lanka outline a visionary approach for their relations. The statement, titled “Promoting Connectivity, Catalysing Prosperity: India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision”, was issued after talks between the two. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe Last week in Delhi, visions were presented in five areas: maritime, air, energy, trade and people-to-people initiatives. New investments in sea and air connectivity will include the development of ports and airports in Sri Lanka, the resumption of ferry services, and the expansion of the flight network to connect Tamil Nadu and the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. A major jump in energy connectivity will include the development of renewable energy wind and solar plants in Sri Lanka. Both are expected to increase trade, and continue Indian support for Sri Lanka’s economy which collapsed last year and is slowly working on its debt restructuring process. An MoU was signed for rolling out UPI digital payments in Sri Lanka and designating the Indian Rupee as the currency for trade. They also agreed to explore ways to enhance tourism and cultural and religious travel and educational cooperation.
While the vision statement revealed a broad plan for the future, what was lacking was evident: none of the written documents released during Mr. Wickremesinghe’s visit acknowledged past commitments by Sri Lanka to honor the 13A constitutional amendment for devolution of powers to the North and Eastern provinces and to resolve long-pending issues over the arrest of Indian fishermen. It was left to Mr Modi to make a scathing appeal in his speech for the devolution and conduct of provincial council elections, and he stressed the need to ensure “a life of dignity and respect” for the Sri Lankan Tamil community. In Colombo, the ruling SLPP, which supports President Wickremesinghe, made it clear that his government lacked the “electoral mandate” to discuss the issues, which have long been a source of tension between India and Sri Lanka. The fact that neither Mr. Wickremesinghe’s remarks in Delhi, nor the joint statement mentioned such important issues, may be the larger message of the meeting: the Indian government is no longer welcome to bring its historical concerns on the Tamil issue into bilateral talks, despite Sri Lanka’s other dependencies on New Delhi. Despite strong family ties between India and Sri Lanka, history has soured ties in the past, and any vision for the future that does not include an amicable resolution of these issues will be incomplete.