President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s  visit comes at a time when there is promise of a new era of peace and progress in Sri Lanka. Terrorism and secessionist forces have been resolutely defeated. Rehabilitation and reconciliation are the need of the hour. Sri Lankan Government has undertaken the immediate and challenging task of resettling the nearly 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who emerged out of the conflict zone traumatized by the violence. India is confident that in the coming days, the remaining IDPs will also return to their places of residence to resume their life in peace and security. The restoration of their livelihood, rekindling of their entrepreneurial spirit and resumption of cultural and developmental activities combined with strong financial and moral support will help them resume productive lives again.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s  electoral victory holds out hope that an era of reconciliation will begin, where all communities would come together and forge a permanent settlement addressing all outstanding issues in a spirit of mutual accommodation. A genuine political settlement is the path to cohesion and mutual coexistence.

India stands ready to contribute, in any way it can, to assist Sri Lanka in its return to normalcy. The visit to Sri Lanka of a group of Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu last October served to underline this commitment. India’s  initial focus was on humanitarian assistance which included supply of family packs, medicines, artificial limbs and a field hospital and on the resettlement of IDPs. Apart from the assistance of Rs. 500 crores for the rehabilitation in the north, India is  extending about US$ 800 million as Lines of Credit for railway projects. India is  willing to contribute to the reconstruction process through support for reviving agriculture, for rebuilding schools, housing and civil infrastructure, for rehabilitating war widows, constructing the Cultural Centre in Jaffna, setting up Vocational Training Centres and restoring the Duriappa Stadium.

India and Sri Lanka relations are civilisational and inextricably linked by history, language, religion, trade and, more recently, by our struggle against colonialism and commitment to democracy and pluralism. In fact, it is this blend of the ancient and the modern that has made India and Sri Lanka relations unique in the modern world. With the cessation of hostilities in northern Sri Lanka, India and Sri Lanka have an opportunity to realize the full potential of their bilateral relations. during this visit, India and Srilanka  are committing ourselves to substantially enhance the range and depth of bilateral engagement.

Enhanced economic interaction and greater connectivity hold the key to leverage mutual strengths for the benefit of our peoples and, indeed, the entire region. Gains of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement should be consolidated. Trade and investments need to be encouraged further. Several Sri Lankan private sector companies have invested profitably in India. traditional development partnership thrives and several projects have been taken up all over Sri Lanka.

India and Srilanka have decided to resume the ferry services between Rameshwaram and Thalaimannar and between Colombo and Tuticorin ports – links that had remained disrupted for years. Power-grid interconnectivity is another linkage being explored. More than 100 flights a week ply between the two countries and the largest number of tourists in Sri Lanka are from India. To bring India closer to the people and promote people-to-people contacts, India is opening Consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota.

Both the countries should come together to leverage strengths in the world of knowledge and enhance  cooperation in the education sector. Indian  scholarship outreach in Sri Lanka is being expanded and India’s capacity building in the education sector, especially among the Indian Origin Tamils, will continue. Recognising  shared civilisational bonds, both countries will commemorate the 2600th year of the attainment of Enlightenment of Lord Buddha through joint activities in Sri Lanka.

India and Sri Lanka can show the way forward to the region and to the world as a model of mutually beneficial cooperation. Both the countries can find new synergies and new areas of cooperation. It is through enhanced engagement that realize the full potential of  bilateral relations.