Wickremesinghe visit likely to reinvigorate India-Lanka ties, energy partnership key focus area

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is arriving in New Delhi this evening to assure India of its pre-eminent position in the island where India and China have been locked in a tussle for influence in recent years.

The presence of Chinese naval vessels in Sri Lankan ports, including submarines in 2014 and more recently, a surveillance ship, has raised serious concerns in India.

The Sri Lankan President has clarified neutrality in the ongoing power game in the region and emphasised that it has no defence agreement with China and will not allow any base for anti-Indian activities.

Wickremesinghe is likely to reaffirm his government’s commitment to not allow activities detrimental to Indian interests from its territory as he seeks to integrate the Sri Lankan economy with India’s for future growth and stability.

Officials say the main focus will be on economic partnership and energy connectivity between the two countries.

An agreement on linking the power transmission grids of the two countries for energy trade is likely.

Sri Lanka is an important partner in India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. It is also part of the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of New Delhi.

His visit will “reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two countries and explore avenues for enhanced connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation across sectors, ”said the Indian foreign ministry.

Colombo wants more Indian investment in the country and would like major Indian companies to look at Sri Lanka as their favoured investment destination.

The strategically important island in the Indian Ocean has been part of heightened rivalry between India and China in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia in particular in past years.

Though Wickremesinghe became the country’s President nearly a year back, his delayed visit to Delhi—which is a clear departure from the past tradition where newly elected leaders have visited India soon after assuming office, had raised eyebrows in some sections.

But officials say his preoccupation in putting the economy back on track led to the delay.

He comes at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 75th year of establishment of their diplomatic ties. His visit will be short. He will be in Delhi for 27 hours to hold discussions with the Indian leadership.

But Wickremesinghe is well-known to the Indian political leadership. The Indian External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, will meet him this evening.

He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his delegation on Friday when a number of MoUs (Memoranda of Understanding) are likely to be signed.

The main thrust will be on putting in place a comprehensive economic partnership between the two countries. A number of other areas for co-operation like education, culture, connectivity and security are also likely to be highlighted during the talks.

The Sri Lankan President is also in favour of the Indian currency being used in Sri Lanka to enhance trade and encourage Indian tourists to the island.

The issue of granting more autonomy to the Tamil-dominated northern part of the country, a promise that has been long denied is also likely to come up during the talks.

Even in the past, Wickremesinghe has wanted stronger ties with India, particularly an economic partnership to integrate Sri Lanka to the Indian market and other neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

But he lacked the political support to push through his ideas. Mainly because of the Rajapaksa family’s pronounced pro-China tilt.

When Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected as President in 2019, Indian foreign minister Jaishankar was the first leader to meet him in Colombo and emphasised India’s keenness to have strong ties with his government.

Though Gotabaya was interested in building a strong partnership with India, he was prevented from pursuing it by other members in the Rajapaksa family, especially his all-powerful brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who served as President and Prime Minister of the country.

But the acute economic crisis and rising food and fuel inflation in Sri Lanka in 2022 that brought thousands of angry Sri Lankans to the street to throw out the Rajapaksa brothers from government, paved the way for Wickremesinghe to step in and steady the Sri Lankan ship.

Now as Executive President, Wickremesinghe is expected to push through many of the MoUs and agreements that the two countries had signed but not implemented.

China has spent billions of dollars in infrastructure in Sri Lanka. But the massive Chinese investment led to huge debts for the government and the recent financial crisis forced serious introspection in Sri Lanka about China’s role in the country.

When Sri Lanka desperately needed financial and material aid to overcome an unprecedented forex shortage, China showed reluctance in coming to its help.

India’s help both during the Covid-19 pandemic and during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis with a US$ 4 billion line of credit, food, fuel and medicines plus guiding it to get a US $ 3 billion bailout from the IMF, has brought back Delhi as the “first responder” in the country.

China will continue to play a significant role in Sri Lanka, mainly for trade, investment and support at international forums.