- Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited India on a three-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
- Sri Lankan President Gautabaya had a formal reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.
- President Ram Nath Kovind will give a formal banquet in honor of Gautabaya today
- Supporters of MDMK protest against Sri Lankan President’s visit in Delhi
Sri Lankan President Gautabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House on Friday. Prime Minister Modi said in a joint statement that to strengthen the economy of Sri Lanka, a line of credit of 2865 crore rupees ($ 400 million) will be provided. 716 crores Rs. ($ 100 million) of debt will be given to spend on the solar project.
Modi said- 46 thousand houses have already been constructed in Sri Lanka under the Indian Housing Project. Construction of 14 thousand houses for people of Tamil origin continues. We shared our views to strengthen relations with Sri Lanka. President Rajapaksa told me that his political approach is to maintain harmony among various communities. I hope the Government of Sri Lanka will work towards equality, justice and respect for Tamils.
Sri Lanka on priority under ‘neighbourhood first policy’: Modi
He said- You (Gautabaya Rajapaksa) got majority from the people of Sri Lanka. It shows that they would like to see a strong Sri Lanka. This is not only in India’s interest but is important for the entire Indian Ocean region. Modi said, “India and Sri Lanka have shared a strong relationship. Under ‘neighbourhood first policy’ we place Sri Lanka on priority in our relations. India has always fought against terrorism. We will give Sri Lanka Rs 358 crore to fight terrorism. (50 million dollars). “
Indian fishermen boats will be released soon: Rajapaksa
Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa said, “India raised the issue of Sri Lanka capturing boats. We will work to release the boats from our custody soon. ”Sri Lankan President Gautabaya Rajapaksa is on a three-day visit to India. He had a formal reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. Gautbaya met President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, Gautbaya met Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. This is Gautabaya’s first foreign visit after becoming President.
Gautbaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as President on 18 November
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ravish Kumar said that the visit of the President of Sri Lanka at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, will give a boost to the relationship between the two countries. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was the first foreign leader to meet Gautabaya after taking over as president. Gautabaya won the presidential election this month. He was sworn in on 18 November. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated him on the victory and invited him to visit India.
Protest of MDMK leader Vaiko and supporters in Delhi
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader Vaiko protested with supporters in Delhi on Thursday in protest against Gautabaya’s visit. The police then took the protesters to Parliament Street Police Station.
Gautabaya is believed to be a supporter of China. However, he said recently that it was a mistake of the predecessor government to give Hambantota port to China on a 99-year lease. The agreement is under negotiation again.
China wants to occupy Indian Ocean
Seven Chinese warships Xian-32 were spotted near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean in September. These were tracked by Indian Navy reconnaissance aircraft P-8I and took photographs. According to sources, the main objective of the Navy controlled by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China is to show its strength in the Indian Ocean region. They (China) also want to maintain their influence here because most of the maritime trade from this region.
Sri Lanka in debt
Sri Lanka’s image is built as a country that is drowning in China’s debt. Sri Lanka took several loans from Exim Bank between 2007 and 2016 for the construction of the port of Hambantota. Sri Lanka was not able to strike a proper balance in the payment of its foreign debt, nor was there a large amount of foreign investment. For this reason Sri Lanka was not in a position to repay the debt. In such a situation, it decided to lease the port to Merchant Port Holdings Limited Company of China on a 99-year lease. Sri Lanka handed over the rights of Hambantota to China for $ 1.12 billion (about 8 thousand crore rupees).