India and Sri Lanka on Saturday turned a page in bilateral relations during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo by signing comprehensive MoUs on defence and energy cooperation that recognise the “interlinked nature of the national security” of the two countries.
Though India and Sri Lanka have collaborated on defence in the past, including joint military and naval exercises, this is the first time a defence MoU has been signed. “The MoU is in itself an umbrella framework document that will make existing defence cooperation initiatives more structured,” foreign secretary Vikram Misri told the media.
The MoU has been in the works for two years after both countries agreed at the 2023 Defence Dialogue to strengthen relations in the sector with a pact on defence cooperation. Despite a regime change in Colombo, Sri Lanka stayed the course and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake — whose party has traditionally been hostile to India — on Saturday assured the Prime Minister that “Sri Lanka’s land nor the oceans around it will be allowed to be used in any manner inimical to India’s security”.
Detailing the MoU, Misri said there would be more high-level visits between the two countries, more joint exercises, capacity building, exchanges in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief-related operations and an increase in port calls by naval units of both countries. It will also facilitate the exploration of defence industry cooperation between the two sides.
Sri Lankan defence secretary Sampath Thuyacontha was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying that the MoU would be in force for five years, with the rights reserved for the parties to terminate the agreement with three months’ advance notice.
In the energy sector, an MoU was signed between India, Sri Lanka and UAE for the development of Trincomalee — a port city on the northeast coast of the island — as an energy hub. “At the present moment, the way this is structured, it is a government-to-government MoU in order to provide the enabling framework, and to set out some of the broad terms of reference for this cooperation.
“The actual projects that will be carried out will be discussed in detail by the designated business entities of the three sides. The UAE is a major energy partner for India and, therefore, an ideal partner for this particular exercise that is being done for the first time in this region,” Misri said.
The issue of fishermen being caught in each others’ waters was also discussed. “It is something that has remained a constant feature of discussions at all levels, including the highest levels between the two sides. As the Prime Minister said himself, there was emphasis on the need to adopt a humanitarian and constructive approach to cooperation on these issues because they impact the livelihood of fishermen on both sides of the Palk Bay,” Misri added.