New Delhi
9 June 2010
India on Wednesday pressed for a "meaningful devolution package based on the
13th Amendment" and announced a slew of measures to aid quicker rehabilitation of the
Tamils displaced by conflict and to revitalise trade and security ties with Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointed out to visiting Sri Lankan president Mahinda
Rajapaksa that the cessation of hostilities in the island nation in May 2009 and Mr
Rajapaksa's subsequent re-election for a second consecutive term provided a historic
opportunity for him to work towards genuine national reconciliation.
"The Prime Minister emphasised that a meaningful devolution package, building upon
the 13th Amendment, would create the necessary conditions for a lasting political
settlement," read the joint statement issued after their talks.
Talking to journalists, Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said India has urged Sri Lanka to
take urgent steps to resettle the remaining internally displaced persons (IDPs).
According to Colombo, around 50,000 ethnic Tamils continue to live in relief camps. India
announced that it will help construct 50,000 houses for the IDPs in the Northern and
Eastern provinces.
For his part, the Lankan president is understood to have conveyed to the Indian
leadership that he intends to move forward towards a political settlement without delay
but he introduced the caveat that the process of reconciliation should be inclusive and it
should take into the new realities post-conflict. Mr Rajapaksa reassured New Delhi that
he would listen to what the Sri Lankan-Tamils had to say, and cited his recent meeting
with the Tamil National Alliance to suggest that he has begun the process of
consultations.
Besides trade and culture, the Indian and Sri Lankan leaders exchanged views on a host
of geo-strategic issues. They agreed to promote dialogue on security and defence
issues of relevance to the bilateral relationship, and enhance high-level military
exchanges and training of military personnel as well as impart additional training in
Indian institutions for the newly recruited police personnel. The two countries also
agreed to institute an annual defence dialogue between the two governments.
New Delhi approaches its security and defence ties with Colombo from the perspective
of common concerns. A source tracking India's engagement of Sri Lanka said geography
justifies the need for close consultations between the two countries. Sri Lanka has
invited the Indian navy chief to visit the island nation. China also figured in the
discussions between the two countries, the source said.
Borrowing from US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's recent remarks about India-US
relations, the source described India-Lanka ties as "an affair of the heart", not just of the
head.
// BOX ONE //
India, Lanka sign:
* contract for reconstruction of Madu -- Talaimannar railway line by IRCON
* MoU on setting up of women's trade facilitation centre and community learning centre
at Batticaloa
* MoU on small development project scheme
* treaty on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters and agreement on transfer of
sentenced prisoners
* agreement on conducting a feasibility study for the interconnection of the Indian and Sri
Lankan electricity grids
* programme for cultural cooperation for the period 2010-2013
// BOX TWO //
Other decisions:
* India to help construct 50,000 houses for IDPs in the Northern and Eastern provinces
* India to assist the rehabilitation of Palaly airport and Kankesanthurai harbour, and the
renovation of Duraiappah stadium
* India to construct a cultural centre in Jaffna
* launch "India-Sri Lanka Knowledge Initiative". Under this Initiative, the two leaders
welcomed the proposal of the University of Colombo to establish a Centre for
Contemporary Indian Studies with the support of the Government of India
* Contract for Medawachchiya -- Madu segment of the railway line will be signed soon
* agree to resume ferry services between Colombo and Tuticorin and between
Talaimannar and Rameswaram
* agree to establish the consulates-general of India in Jaffna and in Hambantota. India
welcomes Sri Lanka's interest in establishing a new post in India in addition to those in
Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi
* agree to revive the Joint Commission and to hold its next meeting, co-chaired by their
foreign ministers, later this year
* agree to launch a CEOs Forum
* agree to jointly commemorate the 2600th year of the attainment of enlightenment by
Lord Buddha (Sambuddhatva Jayanthi)
* India, Lanka to hold talks on a comprehensive framework of economic cooperation
* working on an agreement providing for comprehensive cooperation in agriculture
* Indian, Lankan officials directed to revive the meetings of the bilateral Joint Working
Group on Fishing
* Lanka proposes a joint information mechanism on the possibility of oil and gas fields
straddling the India Sri Lanka maritime boundary
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