After signing a deal on nuclear safety, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the new Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena that there was "unprecedented opportunity" to take ties to a new level.
China's growing influence in Sri Lanka over recent years has been a source of disquiet in India, which has long been regarded as the neighbouring island as within its natural sphere of influence.
But Sirisena's victory over long-time ruler Mahinda Rajapakse in elections last month has been seized on by both sides as a chance for a reboot in relations, fuelled by the new president's decision to make India his first port of call in office.
"It's an honour that you have chosen India as your first foreign destination," Modi said after hosting talks with Sirisena, who is barely five weeks into his tenure.
"India is the closest neighbour and friend of Sri Lanka. Our goodwill and support will always be with you. I believe that our destinies are interlinked."
"We share very strong relations that span several thousand years," said Sirisena, whose country lies at the southern tip of India.
"The courtesy extended to us on this visit has been very great ... this is my first official visit to India and it has been very fruitful. I can clearly say that our bilateral relations have been further strengthened."
Under the nuclear deal, India will provide safety training for Sri Lanka where there have been longstanding concerns about how to handle any possible disaster involving the Kundankulam nuclear plant in India's Tamil Nadu state.
It would also provide expertise on dealing with any radiological waste from medical centres.
India has long considered Sri Lanka to be within its strategic sphere of influence, sending troops to the island in 1987 to enforce a peace accord it brokered between Colombo and separatist Tamil rebels.
But under Rajapakse China ploughed huge sums into Sri Lankan infrastructure projects, becoming its biggest foreign financier and enjoying significant political and even military influence.
India was reported to have been furious at the brief appearance last year of two Chinese submarines in Sri Lankan waters.
China has been accused of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a "string of pearls" strategy to counter the rise of its Asian rival India and secure its own economic interests.
While neither man mentioned China by name, the announcements of memoranda of understanding on issues such as defence cooperation and energy will have been noted in Beijing.
Modi said he and Sirisena had "agreed to expand our defence and security cooperation" as well as work together on maritime security.
Analysts say the visit's main significance is as a signal of intent from Sri Lanka.
"This visit is very significant because it could very well be a turning point," K G Suresh, senior fellow at the Delhi-based Vivekananda International Foundation think-tank, told AFP.
"Suspicions that earlier marked India-Sri Lanka relations could now give way to more confidence and strong ties between the two."
Sirisena is keen to attract greater Indian investment in Sri Lanka, which said last week it was seeking an international bailout of more than $4.0 billion.
China funded much of Sri Lanka's post-war infrastructure under the Rajapakse administration but the new government has said the interest rates charged on the loans averaged between five and seven percent.
Sirisena is being accompanied by several ministers, including reconstruction minister D M Swaminathan, who said the government was keen to secure India's support for ethnic reconciliation following the island's decade-long ethnic war that ended in 2009.
Sri Lanka's minority Tamils share close cultural ties with the Tamils in Tamil Nadu.
On Tuesday Sirisena will travel to the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Bodh Gaya and a Hindu temple in Tirupati further south before leaving the next day.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena,Maithripala Sirisena,India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Sri Lanka, India leaders eye new era in troubled ties
Dengan url
http://obecedes.blogspot.com/2015/02/sri-lanka-india-leaders-eye-new-era-in.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Sri Lanka, India leaders eye new era in troubled ties
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Sri Lanka, India leaders eye new era in troubled ties
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar