India to step up naval surveillance

India has agreed to step up its naval surveillance with Sri Lanka to curb activities of the LTTE, newly appointed Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said.

Minister Bogollagama, who held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee last week told the Press Trust of India that the government was prepared to talk peace with the LTTE if it shunned violence, but asserted that terrorism would be met with force, said a PTI report.

"There is need for greater supervision and surveillance of the waters around Sri Lanka. India is our immediate neighbour and shares waters with us. It is imperative that we have cooperation on the naval front," said Bogollagama, who undertook a day-long visit to New Delhi within 72 hours of becoming Foreign Minister.

"That (cooperation in naval surveillance) is getting further enhanced," he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the situation in the island.

Highlighting the fact that he had chosen India as the first country he visited after getting the new assignment, he said it reflected the importance accorded to this country by his government.

He said he had come here to convey a message of "clarity" regarding Sri Lanka's standpoint and looked forward to greater cooperation between the two countries in the months to come.

The Foreign Minister said Sri Lanka looked forward to enhanced cooperation with India in various fields, including trade, commerce, railways and power, while underlining the need for a time-bound and "business-like" approach to their partnership.