Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Sri Lanka to expand its defence and energy ties as Colombo balances its relationship with its powerful neighbour and biggest lender, China.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disnayake unveiled a red carpet for Modi and welcomed him with a 19 gun salute at the capital’s Independence Square on Saturday.
The Indian leader is the first foreign official to visit the island since leftist Disnayake wiped out elections last year.
Modi was also awarded by Disnayake along with Mithra Bibshan, Sri Lanka’s highest civilian honor.
The Indian leader thanked the Sri Lanka president, saying that the honor “is not just mine, but belongs to 140 crores. [1.4 billion] Indian people. ”
“We believe our security interests are consistent,” Modi said at a televised ceremony from Dissanayake’s office in Colombo. “Our security is mutually dependent and interconnected.”
The two countries have signed a five-year defence cooperation agreement on training and sharing of information and technology for Sri Lankan military personnel in India.
Dissanayake praised what he called “the rise of India as a world force, not a local force.”
“I have repeatedly reiterated with Modi, Prime Minister Modi, that Sri Lanka’s territory will not be allowed to be used by anyone to undermine India’s security,” he added.
India has previously opposed Chinese submarines and research vessels called at major ports in Colombo. Sri Lanka has not allowed Chinese submarines to dock since 2014 after India raised concerns on two visits such as this.
Last year, Colombo imposed a ban on foreign research vessels following New Delhi’s accusations that Chinese ships were being used to spy on India.
Report from Colombo, Miner Fernandez of Al Jazeera said it is expected to also discuss the issue of fishermen in Tamil Nadu, southern India, where Solinayake is said to have invaded Sri Lankan territory.
“Hundreds of Indian trawlers are using mechanized systems called bottom trolls to carry fish away, which is destroying the environment,” she said.
India, UAE for developing energy hubs
However, the highlight of the visit was an agreement on a plan by India and the United Arab Emirates to develop an energy hub in Sri Lanka, India’s Foreign Ministry said.
The hubs in the strategically important districts of Trincomalee, a natural port in eastern Sri Lanka, include the construction of multi-product pipelines and may include the use of World War II farms, partially held by the Sri Lankan subsidiary of Indian Petroleum Co., Ltd.
“The United Arab Emirates is India’s strategic partner in the energy space and therefore the ideal partner for this exercise, and it is the first time it has been performed in the region,” Misri said. “As the business-to-business discussion begins, the exact outline of the UAE’s role is explained in detail.”
The three countries then choose business entities that consider the funding and feasibility of the hub’s projects, he said.
Modi and Dissanayake have also launched a 120 megawatt Sampur solar power plant in Trincomalee. The factory had been stagnant for years, but was revitalized with support as a joint project in New Delhi.
India and Sri Lanka have also signed a debt restructuring process, Misri said.
Sri Lanka owes about $1.36 billion in loans to the Indian Bank and the National Bank of India, according to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance data.
India and Sri Lanka have also signed agreements on grid connectivity, digitalization, security and healthcare.
A balanced act
Modi’s visit came as Colombo was working on competing interests in New Delhi and Beijing.
India is concerned about China’s growing shaking in Sri Lanka and believes it is within the scope of geopolitical impact.
Dissanayake’s first foreign visit as president was in December to New Delhi, but he visited Beijing in January to highlight Sri Lanka’s delicate balancing act.
China has emerged as Sri Lanka’s largest single bilateral creditor, accounting for more than half of the $14 billion bilateral obligations at the time the island defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2022.
Beijing was the first to rebuild a loan to Sri Lanka. The move settled the way the island emerged from the worst economic meltdown of history that year.
Colombo also signed a contract in January with a state-owned Chinese company investing $3.7 billion in an oil refinery south of the island. It is Sri Lanka’s largest single foreign investment and is considered important to the island’s economy.
Modi arrived in Sri Lanka late on Friday from a Thailand summit, and from a series of meetings with leaders of regional countries who were trying to build relationships with India and their neighbors.
Bystanders of the Bangkok Bimstek Conference – Grouping of Seven Countries in the Bay of Bengal – Modi held an unusual face-to-face meeting with Chief Min Aung Freen of Myanmar’s military government.
Modi also spoke with Muhammad Yunus, interim leader of nearby Bangladesh. The first meeting since the Dhaka revolution eliminated Sheikh Hasina, a long-term ally in New Delhi.
India is the biggest benefactor of the Hasina government, and her overthrow culminated in Yunus, sending cross-border relations to Tailspin, and choosing to visit China for the first time last month.
Modi also met with Nepal’s counterpart KP Sharmaori in Bangkok on Friday. It was the first Kathmandu leader to send Bhutan’s Tobbagay last year.
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