After wide-ranging talks with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he hopes the island nation will fulfil the aspirations of Tamil people. Both the prime ministers talked on various issues from trade to combat terrorism. Mahinda Rajapaksa is on a five-day visit to India after taking charge as a Prime Minister to Sri Lanka in November last year.
Showing concern about the Tamil community, Modi said he expects that the Sri Lankan government will realize the expectations of equality, justice, peace, and respect of the Tamil people as it is a long-pending issue faced by both the countries.
On the fisherman issue, Modi said both sides have decided to adopt a humanitarian approach dealing with it.
On terrorism, he said, “We have decided to deepen cooperation to combat terror”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also met Mahinda Rajapaksa during which a range of discussions including development, security cooperation and partnership between two countries took place.
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Talks with Sri Lanka, the island country in the Indian ocean is important as there’s a significant development in China’s footprint witnessed in the last decade in the Indian ocean triggering concerns of the Indian government.
After his official engagement in Delhi, Rajapaksa will travel to Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, and Tirupati.
Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier served as Sri Lanka’s president from 2005-2015. He was also prime minister for a short period in 2018. His brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited India in 2019 November after he took charge as President of Sri Lanka.