{"id":12316,"date":"2021-08-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/02-08-2021\/india-sri-lanka-roadmap\/"},"modified":"2021-08-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T00:00:00","slug":"india-sri-lanka-roadmap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/02-08-2021\/india-sri-lanka-roadmap","title":{"rendered":"India-Sri Lanka Roadmap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Recently, Sri Lanka sought to reset relations with India.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>About<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">With a new High Commissioner and strategy roadmap in Sri Lanka, the country seeks to revisit and change the equation of relations with India.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Recent Developments<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>High Commissioner:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">After months of strain over a number of issues including the cancelled port project in Colombo, Sri Lanka is preparing to send its High Commissioner-designate to Delhi.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The reset in ties is expected to be marked by the arrival of Mr Moragoda, a former Cabinet Minister, in mid-August. His predecessor High Commissioner Austin Fernando completed his term and returned to Colombo on January 11, 2020, which makes this the longest period the position has remained vacant, even though Mr Moragoda\u2019s appointment was announced in August 2020.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Roadmap:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">A \u2018roadmap\u2019 to restore ties has also been made that includes:<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">resolving fishermen\u2019s issues,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">building connectivity,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">trade and investment,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Promoting religious links,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Buddhist exchanges\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">handing over a sacred \u201cSita temple stone\u201d from Sri Lanka for the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The roadmap will help bridge the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>\u201cgrowing trust deficit\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The strategy is silent on the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), negotiations for which appear deadlocked.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>India\u2019s Issue:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">India expressed its unhappiness over Sri Lanka\u2019s decision to scrap the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>East Container Terminal project<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> signed in 2019, amidst other signs that China was gaining the upper hand in infrastructure deals in the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Transactional approach:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">In recent years, the Indo-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship has been increasingly dominated by a transactional approach. This is a consequence of the changes in the geopolitical equilibrium in the region that has resulted in a growing trust deficit.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>India extended a $100 mn loan to Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">India and Sri Lanka signed an agreement for a $100-million loan from the Export-Import Bank of India to support the island nation\u2019s efforts to <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>expand solar power coverage<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">This line of credit will help finance various projects in Sri Lanka\u2019s solar energy sector, including those announced at the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) such as <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>rooftop solar photovoltaic systems<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> for households and government buildings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>East Container Terminal (ECT) Project<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">In May 2019, the state-run <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> inked a memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Sri Lanka, India and Japan to develop the East Container Terminal (ECT)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/cprwrJZlvP4S7SEW0dhPAAYsIPY3jYdT5xjh9r8gxAldH8NO_wequZybi1H7qRxzrHEAdM3ZG9ifTG-M92Oik1h0Xahgt8UMRD2DTYPoU5As3MFMdLoirrIpNq581R_vrC89N4vI\" style=\"height:312px; width:481px\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Image Courtesy: <\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.maritimegateway.com\/east-container-terminal-offing\/\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><u>maritime gateways<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The three countries agreed that SLPA would retain 100% ownership, while a jointly-owned Terminal Operations company would run the terminal&#8211; 51% stake with Sri Lanka and 49% with India and Japan.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">In Feb 2021, Sri Lanka booted India and Japan out of a 2019 deal to jointly develop the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port, as trade unions and sections of the Buddhist clergy vehemently opposed foreign involvement in the strategic national asset.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Both India and Japan expressed displeasure at the Sri Lankan government\u2019s unilateral decision, reneging on a tripartite agreement.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">As an alternative, Sri Lanka offered the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>West Container Terminal (WCT)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> at the Port to India and Japan for joint development on new terms, with higher stakes of 85 % for the foreign partners.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">In March 2021, the government approved a joint venture with the Adani consortium to develop the WCT, on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis for 35 years. But even this Project has not been smooth sailing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Are the ECT and WCT deals similar?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The Colombo Port has five terminals at present \u2014 South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT), Jaya International Terminal (JCT), Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), Unity Container Terminal, and the ECT. The proposed WCT is to come up at the Port\u2019s western end.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Although both the ECT and the WCT are located in the same Port, there are crucial differences in their proposed development.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/g8u61vKl3lySve9yHR_LwUg4bGXUlciJbkj_bXTTWwg56gzVnuQjlvEk_LKLMx5bTNe495aGt01OULQwZYoz1G2OZGR4Eqc8oiW9O7QqHYQsmTwXZ9E04gpQxXb3iL0On5pJ-sF_\" style=\"height:296px; width:445px\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Image Courtesy:<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankabusinessonline.com\/revival-of-east-container-terminal-essential-to-turning-sl-into-freight-and-logistics-hub\/\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><u> Lanka business<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Way Forward<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Sri Lanka needs to speed up the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>West Container Terminal project<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> that Sri Lanka offered after cancelling the ECT project, as well as the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm and other pending projects.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">An <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>inter-Agency Committee on Trade, Investment and Tourism<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> should be established to reach Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) goals of $256 million from India in 2022.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Promote exchanges of Buddhist and Hindu scholars as well as Sri Lankan Catholic pilgrims to the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>\u201cVelankanni trail\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> in Tamil Nadu. In particular, it speaks of handing over a sacred stone from the Sita Amman temple in Sri Lanka for the Ram Temple planned in Ayodhya.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Top Sri Lankan diplomats should engage directly with the government and fisheries associations in Tamil Nadu.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Proposals to enhance connectivity have to include resuming passenger ferry services and more air connectivity and new destinations for Sri Lankan flights.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Source<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">: <\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/with-a-new-high-commissioner-and-strategy-roadmap-sri-lanka-seeks-to-reset-ties-with-india\/article35657225.ece\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:'Book Antiqua',serif\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><u>TH<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, Sri Lanka sought to reset relations with India. About With a new High Commissioner and strategy roadmap in Sri Lanka, the country seeks to revisit and change the equation of relations with India.\u00a0 Recent Developments High Commissioner:\u00a0 After months of strain over a number of issues including the cancelled port project in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[30,34,29],"class_list":["post-12316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs-2","tag-india-foreign-relations","tag-thehindu"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/3124322current-affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}