Opening of consulates in Jaffna, Hambantota on itinerary:

Indian FM due here for Joint Commission meeting

By Manjula FERNANDO

India-Sri Lanka bi-lateral relations that had diversified over the past years will be further consolidated and strengthened when the seventh India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission convenes after a lapse of five years, in Colombo on Friday, November 26 at 11.30 am.

Chaired by Foreign Ministers of the two States, the Commission will review the progress of the joint commitments and the progress of implementation of the agenda set during President Rajapaksa's State visit to India in June.

Beginning a three-day official visit, a delegation led by India's Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna is scheduled to arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport on Thursday evening, diplomatic sources said.

The Indian Minister's itinerary includes opening of two consulates in Hambantota and Jaffna, inauguration of a 1,000-house pilot project for IDPs in the Northern province and the inauguration of Medawachchiya railway line construction project. He will visit Hambantota and Jaffna subsequent to the joint commission meeting on Thursday.

Following the meeting and the signing of the agreed minutes a joint statement will be issued to media by Ministers Prof. Peiris and Krishna. The highlight of the meeting this time will be enhancing connectivity and economic engagement, a spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry said.

The topics on the agenda include planning an annual defence dialogue between the defence forces of the two countries and finalizing the Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

Safety and security of fishermen, and topics on areas of cooperation in space technology and defence are also expected to be discussed at the confab.

Exchanges on a proposed framework for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to ensure expansion in economic cooperation between the two countries are expected to take centre stage. The delegates would discuss the best suited terms over the needs of the two countries.

The Department of Commerce had been having a continued dialogue on the proposed agreement and it is expected that the officials will further discuss and consult on the framework text of CEPA at the Joint Commission level.

In this respect, a visit by the Indian Commerce Minister in December this year is expected to be undertaken at the conclusion of the meeting.

The Joint Commission will also review the progress of the Northern Railway reconstruction projects and the Line of Credit offered to build a jetty at Sampur. India has offered two concessionary credit lines of US$ 800m and US$ 200m for these two projects.

Tourism between India and Sri Lanka has boomed during the past year and both the countries have recognised this area as having immense potential for development. India accounts for the largest number of tourist arrivals from a single destination while Sri Lanka is among top ten tourist sources for India. The fact that SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign airline in India, denotes the special relations the two countries share in the field of civil aviation.

The two sides will also review preparations on the India funded 50,000 mega housing unit project for North and East IDPs and estate workers, which was announced by the Indian Premier during President Mahinda Rajapaksa's State visit last June. The pilot project of this mega undertaking will commence on November 27 by the Indian Government.

Revival of traditional ferry services between Colombo/Tuticorin and Talaimannar/Rameshwaram will also receive priority in the meeting agenda.

Both sides are keen to ensure these services resumed as soon as possible and hence the groundwork is being made to put the mechanism in place ahead of the signing of agreements.

Inter-connection of Sri Lankan and Indian electricity grids will be another proposal that will be keenly discussed by the two delegations and a groundbreaking announcement is expected to be made in this respect.