PM Modi meets Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe in Delhi, discusses bilateral projects

Wickremesinghe, who arrived in Delhi on Wednesday, was received by Indian envoy to Sri Lanka Taranjit Sandhu. He will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind, besides attending a conference on cyber-security.

November 23, 2017 15:42 IST

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Days ahead of the joint venture between China Merchants Port Holding Company and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met PM Narendra Modi on Thursday at Hyedrabad House in New Delhi. The meeting assumes significance since India has expressed interest in investing in Mattala airport in Hambantota district. Once finalised, it will be a strategic investment for New Delhi to enter a project which has been Chinese turf on Lankan soil. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Jain)

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In August this year, India had proposed to “operate, manage, maintain and develop” the airport through a joint venture, with India holding 70 per cent of the equity for 40 years. India is supposed to invest $205 million, with Sri Lanka contributing $88 million. ( Source: Express Photo by Praveen Jain)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi seen interacting with Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe at Hyedrabad House in New Delhi. (Express photo by Praveen Jain)

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The Indian offer had come within weeks of a Sri Lanka-China agreement on development of Hambantota port, in which the state-run China Merchants Port Holdings will have a 70-per cent stake in a joint venture for a period of 99 years. The Hambantota port and airport projects are part of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, and Delhi has been worried about Beijing’s rising influence in Sri Lanka. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Jain)

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During the meeting, the two Prime Ministers are also expected to discuss development of the Trincomalee port, a petroleum refinery and other industries in the vicinity of the port. India will set up a 50 MW (extendable to 100 MW) solar power plant in Sampur, near Trincomalee. (Express Photo by Parveen Jain)

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Political relations between the two countries have been marked by high-level exchanges of visits at regular intervals. Wickremesinghe visited India in September 2015, his first overseas visit after being appointed PM. He travelled to India a second time in October 2016 for the India Economic Summit, followed by a working visit in April 2017. (Express Photo by Express photo by Praveen Jain)