India and Sri Lanka pledged to strengthen their relations during a visit to New Delhi by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, whose left-wing coalition won a landslide majority in last month's parliamentary elections.
After the two leaders' talks on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had assured Dissanayake that New Delhi would be a reliable partner for Sri Lanka's development. He outlined several areas in which they plan to strengthen cooperation, such as establishing an oil pipeline between the two countries and connecting their electricity grids.
We are honored that Dissanayake has chosen India for his first official visit, Modi said at a joint press conference. “This will give new speed and energy to our relationships.
Dissanayake's party's roots in Marxist ideology had raised concerns in New Delhi over its tilt towards China.
But by making New Delhi his first overseas stop, he signaled that India would indeed be our closest ally, according to Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo. This is the symbolic dimension of this visit.
The two rivals, India and China, vie for influence in this island country strategically located along the Indian Ocean shipping routes. Before Sri Lanka's economy collapsed in 2022, Beijing had invested billions of dollars to build infrastructure projects, including a port that India feared could harm its security.
However, New Delhi and Colombo repaired ties as India helped the country overcome its economic woes by providing aid worth $4 billion as the cash-strapped country struggled to buy food, fuel and medicine.
“We faced an unprecedented economic crisis two years ago and India supported us enormously to get out of this quagmire,” Dissanayake said. Responding to New Delhi's security concerns, he said we would not allow our land to be used in a manner detrimental to India's interests.
Analysts say Dissanayake will forge ties with India as he tries to revive the economy. Cooperation with India will certainly flourish and I would like to reaffirm our continued support to India, the Sri Lankan President said.
Sri Lanka needs to find a balance between India and China, but Dissanayake is more of a pragmatist than an idealologist. He knows that ultimately there is nothing he can do to get on India's bad side, because India, as its closest neighbor, will always be there, according to Saravanamuttu. China will also be present in Sri Lanka, but as to whether China will get a larger participation, I don't think that will necessarily be the case.”
In New Delhi, the Sri Lankan leader also met other senior Indian diplomats, Foreign Minister Jaishankar Subramanian and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
“Our conversations focused on strengthening Indo-Sri Lankan economic cooperation, enhancing investment opportunities, promoting regional security and developing key sectors such as tourism and energy,” Dissanayake said in a press release.
Ahead of the president's visit, Colombo said it would pursue a port project developed by Indian conglomerate Adani Group in Colombo.
The government earlier announced it would review the project after the United States filed a lawsuit against the group's founder and top officials, accusing them of misleading investors by concealing that a massive energy project solar in India was facilitated by an alleged $250 million bribery scheme.
