{"id":39519,"date":"2015-03-14T00:56:56","date_gmt":"2015-03-14T04:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=39519"},"modified":"2015-03-14T00:56:56","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T04:56:56","slug":"modi-promises-to-build-trincomalee-as-a-petroleum-hub-318-line-of-credit-to-upgrade-railways-and-e-visason-arrival-for-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=39519","title":{"rendered":"Modi Promises to Build Trincomalee as a “Petroleum Hub, $318 Line of Credit to Upgrade railways and E-Visason arrival for Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

by<\/p>\n

Suhasini Haidar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his much anticipated visit to Sri Lanka on Friday with a grand ceremonial welcome, though only a modest set of agreements were signed after his talks with Mr. Sirisena. Unlike his previous stops in the Seychelles and Mauritius, where Indian Ocean security cooperation and big-ticket development commitments were made, in Colombo four MoUs — on visa exemptions for official passport holders, customs cooperation, youth exchanges and education, and the construction of a university auditorium — were announced.<\/p>\n

Mr. Modi also announced e-visa on arrival services for Sri Lankans, a $ 318 million Line of Credit to upgrade Sri Lanka\u2019s railways, and a promise to build Trincomalee as a \u201cpetroleum hub\u201d, while seeking movement on the 500 MW Sampur power project, that has been delayed for years due to environmental concerns.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fishermen issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Referring to the contentious issue of fishing rights that has led to tensions between the two countries, Mr. Modi said it must be handled as a \u201chumanitarian concern\u201d. \u201cIt is also important that fishermen’s associations of India and Sri Lanka meet at the earliest to find a mutually acceptable arrangement. It can then be taken forward by both governments,\u201d Mr. Modi suggested.<\/p>\n

Mr. Sirisena, who released 86 fishermen as a goodwill gesture a day ahead of Mr. Modi\u2019s visit, did not refer to the issue, but said Mr. Modi\u2019s visit to the North would be a \u201chistoric moment\u201d for India-Sri lanka ties.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera defended Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe\u2019s controversial comments on the \u201cright to shoot\u201d fishermen trespassing into Sri Lankan waters, the first reaction by the Sri Lankan government to the outrage in India\u2019s Parliament over the comments. \u201cPM Wickremsinghe merely reflected the frustration felt by many of the fishermen locally, nothing more,\u201d Mr. Samaraweera told The Hindu.<\/p>\n

Mr. Wickramasinghe, who hosted a lunch for Mr. Modi, was effusive in his praise of India\u2019s policy in the region. \u201cWe are very happy to see Mr. Modi\u2019s government has made its focus and priority in the subcontinent and Indian Ocean region,\u201d he said in Parliament where Mr. Modi addressed a special session. Both the Prime Ministers invoked India and Sri Lanka\u2019s \u201cshared heritage\u201d in their speeches.<\/p>\n

Modi pays tributes to Indian soldiers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Later, at the IPKF memorial in Colombo, Mr. Modi paid his respects to nearly 1,500 Indian soldiers killed during their anti-LTTE operations in the late 1980s. In his comments in the \u2018visitor’s book\u2019, the Prime Minister called the monument an \u201cemotional manifestation of the bonds of friendship between India and Sri Lanka\u201d. <\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

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by Suhasini Haidar Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his much anticipated visit to Sri Lanka on Friday with a grand ceremonial welcome, though only a modest set of agreements were signed after his talks with Mr. Sirisena. Unlike his previous stops in the Seychelles and Mauritius, where Indian Ocean security cooperation and big-ticket development commitments …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Modi Promises to Build Trincomalee as a “Petroleum Hub, $318 Line of Credit to Upgrade railways and E-Visason arrival for Sri Lanka’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39520,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39519\/revisions\/39520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}