India’s External Affairs Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj called on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Temple Trees in Colombo today.
At the 50 minute long meeting, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that the Joint Commission mechanism is very important for bilateral relations and proposed that the meeting can he held annually.
He invited India to invest in Sri Lanka and to partner in the proposed Special Economic Zone in Trincomalee. Premier Wickremesinghe also updated Ms Swaraj on the political developments in the country.
Ms. Swaraj will today co-chair the Joint Commission meeting with her Sri Lankan counterpart where the two sides will address outstanding bilateral issues like the problem of fishermen and review the Indian development assistance programmes in the country.
The two countries are seeking to sign an Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement this year. In the evening Ms. Swaraj will watch a movie, Echoing Hills, along with President Maithripala Sirisena. The film is based on the lives of Tamil origin Plantation workers of Sri Lanka.