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NEW DELHI: (AMN) India and Sri Lanka on Friday discussed the issue of rehabilitation of displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka. The issue was discussed during talks between the visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh. In informal talks over lunch Sri Lankan President is believed to have apprised Singh about the steps taken by his government to rehabilitate displaced Tamils.

Dr Singh hosted lunch for Rajapaksa, who was in Delhi to attend theclosing ceremony of Commonwealth Games. Other issues of mutual concern also figured. External Affairs Minister S.M Krishna, who held discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Prof Peiris yesterday said that with presidential elections and other polls over in the island nation it is time now time to act decisively to win over Tamil speaking SriLankans so that their concerns were taken care of adequately. Peiris told Krishna that the number of displaced people
who are yet to be rehabilitated has come down to 20,000 from 2.80 lakh. The Sri Lankan government’s plan for political devolution was
also discussed .

The two Ministers also took stock of the progress on implementation of bilateral pacts signed earlier this year. India has committed 1,000 crore rupees for rehabilitation and construction of 50,000 houses in the NorthernProvince. S.M Krishna is also scheduled to visit island nation in the last week of this month.


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