Rebuilding pillars of a relationship

The newly elected Sri Lankan President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), made his first official overseas visit to India.

- SMRUTI S PATTANAIK

India emerged as an important partner for Sri Lanka during the Covid-19 and post-pandemic periods when the country faced an economic crisis leading to its bankruptcy. This ultimately ended Gotabaya Rajapaksa's presidency through a Jana Aragalaya (people's struggle).

Dissanayake embodies the aspirations of the marginalized. His party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), transformed its electoral base (which was 3 per cent earlier) and secured massive votes with 160 seats in the 300-member Parliament. He visited India to discuss several Indian projects that are being implemented in Sri Lanka, the comprehensive economic partnership agreement that has been under discussion for several years, the Tamil issue and the larger security cooperation issue.

Emphasising the futuristic relationship, during Dissanayake's maiden visit to Delhi, Prime Minister Modi said, "Physical, digital and energy connectivity shall be the key pillars of our partnership."

For the past two decades, India has emphasised connectivity as a precursor to economic integration with its neighbours, including Sri Lanka. However, China's Belt and Road Initiative projects have helped construct ports and airports and emerged as a major competition to India's infrastructure activities. China-funded infrastructure projects and India-funded ones have significant differences. First, the public sector companies from India enter into a joint venture with such companies in the host country. Second, India-funded projects are based on the host country's needs. They play a leading role in identifying sectors that need investment.