Deepanshu Khurana, US (DD): Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the special press briefing by Foreign Secretary of India, Shri Vikram Misri on the ongoing visit of the Vice President of India to Sri Lanka. We have with us the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Shri Santosh Jha. With this, I request Foreign Secretary to make his opening remarks.
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Thank you Deepanshu. Namaskar, Ayubowan, Vanakkam, Good evening to all of you. As you know, the Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan is on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka. He arrived in Colombo early this morning. He will be visiting Nuwara Eliya tomorrow and then return to India later tomorrow afternoon.
This is the first bilateral visit of the Vice President of India to Sri Lanka. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Prof. S.P.S. Baghel, Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and two distinguished members of parliament, Dr. K. Laxman and Dr. Medha Vishram Kulkarni.
Today, following the arrival of the Vice President in Colombo this morning, he was received at the airport with a traditionally festive Sri Lankan welcome. Thereafter, for the first engagement of the day, he was received by His Excellency President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat. After a brief private meeting between the two leaders, they proceeded to have substantive delegation-level talks along with their accompanying delegations.
During the delegation-level talks, they reviewed the ongoing bilateral initiatives between the two countries, including the progress on various development cooperation projects that have been undertaken by India in Sri Lanka. Let me just give you briefly a flavor of the conversation during the delegation-level talks.
The President underlined the very strong civilizational bond between the two countries. He referred on more than one occasion to the difference that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Neighborhood First Policy has made in strengthening relations between India and Sri Lanka, especially by way of India's first responder role in recent years, first during the economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka in 2022, and then more recently after cyclone Ditwah in December of 2025. And also referred to the assistance that India is providing at this moment as Sri Lanka deals with the fallout of the West Asia crisis.
The President also referred in this context to India's investments in various sectors in Sri Lanka, especially ports, and also the discussions that are now underway on several projects in the energy sector, in the digital sector, and in the connectivity area. A lot of the focus during the conversation was on the post-cyclone Ditwah financial assistance package that India had announced, and in fact, during this visit, we will see some understandings arrived at that will enable work on some of these projects to start.
As I said, both sides focused on this, on the different projects that comprise this package as Sri Lanka begins work on relief and rehabilitation initiatives post-cyclone Ditwah. The Vice President mentioned, as I said, some initiatives that are underway from the Indian side and some proposals that have already been discussed between the two countries, notable amongst them, the project related to the energy hub in Trincomalee and the proposal to link India and Sri Lanka through an oil pipeline. And in fact, the point was made as to the value of such energy connectivity, especially at a time like now when the entire world and this region especially is facing the fallout of an energy crisis generated by the situation in West Asia.
The Vice President also took the opportunity to express his appreciation to President Dissanayake and the Sri Lankan government for the recent release of several Indian fishermen who were in Sri Lankan custody. I believe a total of 47 fishermen have been released in recent weeks, some of them very, very recently and who are expected to be repatriated to India in the next day or two. The Vice President also referred to the need to remain in constant communication and contact on this issue.
President Dissanayake also mentioned on this subject that there was a need for India and Sri Lanka to work together to address the fishermen-related issue, something that the Vice President welcomed and once again underlined the need for more frequent contact between the concerned authorities of the two countries on this issue, for the joint working group on this subject to meet as well as for engagement between the fishermen's associations on the two sides.
The President, President Dissanayake also spent some time on referring to the extensive work that India has undertaken with regard to capacity building, especially in the public service sector in Sri Lanka, whereby a large number of training opportunities have been opened for public servants in Sri Lanka.
And while expressing his appreciation for this assistance, President Dissanayake also, referring to his recent visit to India for the AI Impact Summit, made the point that this kind of assistance if provided in the digital technology sector, in the IT sector, would be enormously beneficial to Sri Lanka and it would allow the country to explore new opportunities in the booming and ever-growing digital sector, and the Vice President undertook to have this proposal examined by authorities back in India.
The Vice President echoed the point that has been made by Prime Minister Modi in the past when talking about the relationship with neighboring countries, which is that the objective of India, especially in the relationship with Sri Lanka, is to grow and grow together and to march to greater heights in this joint journey towards growth.
The next engagement of the Vice President was at Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, where he was received by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya for a discussion over lunch. The discussions focused on the deep civilizational bond between the two countries and the vibrant people-to-people links that are foundational to the relationship. The Vice President and the Prime Minister, who is also the Education Minister, discussed cooperation in the field of education.
And I would just underline here that during this visit, the Indian side is also making an announcement regarding the enhancement of the Ceylon Estate Workers Education Trust scholarship scheme. The number of scholarships under this scheme is being doubled from 350 to 700, and the monthly stipend is being increased from Lankan rupees 2,500 for A-level students and to Lankan rupees 7,500 for those pursuing higher education.
Later in the afternoon, the honorable Vice President also met with leaders of the Sri Lankan Tamil and the Indian Origin Tamil parties, as well as with Leader of Opposition, Mr. Sajith Premadasa. And just a short while ago, earlier this evening, he participated in a community reception at the New Kathiresan Hall in Colombo, where more than a thousand members of the Indian diaspora, especially the Indian Origin Tamil community, were gathered to meet him. During this reception, the honorable Vice President announced the extension of the eligibility for the Overseas Citizen of India card. This was hitherto limited to the fourth generation of the diaspora. The Vice President announced that in the case of Sri Lanka, this will now be extended to the fifth and the sixth generation of the diaspora. And this will benefit, in particular, the Indian Origin Tamil community.
The Vice President also announced a significant simplification of the procedures for obtaining the Overseas Citizen of India card. This required fairly extensive documentation thus far, but given an assessment of the objective conditions obtaining in Sri Lanka, he announced that going forward, OCI cards would now be issued on the basis of documents that in several cases are documents that are issued by the government of Sri Lanka.
So, certificates of registration issued by Sri Lankan authorities, India-Sri Lanka passports, or registration records maintained at the High Commission of India in Colombo or at the Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy will now also constitute acceptable and valid documents for obtaining an OCI card. This was a long-standing request of the Indian diaspora in Sri Lanka, and this will benefit a large number amongst them over here.
In addition, during the same community reception, the honorable Vice President also announced the completion and handing over of the final tranche of houses under phase three of the Indian Housing Project. This phase three includes 4,000 houses for estate workers in the plantation regions of the Central Province, Uva, and the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. 3,855 units under phase three had already been handed over, and during this visit, the remaining 145 units have been completed and handed over, marking a significant milestone in the progress of the Indian Housing Project.
Some of you may be aware that the overall project, which was announced close to 15 years ago, has an overall commitment of nearly 1,835 crore Indian rupees. It’s a flagship grant assistance project in Sri Lanka. If I am not mistaken, it's probably the largest such Indian grant assistance project outside of India. 50,000 houses have already been completed under this project, and work on a fourth phase comprising 10,000 houses is now underway.
The Hon’ble Vice President concluded the day's engagements by visiting and praying at the Kathiresan Temple and the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo. Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo was also where earlier this year we had the Devni Mori relics from Gujarat that were on display. As I mentioned earlier, the Hon’ble Vice President will visit Nuwara Eliya tomorrow. He will go to Littlesdale Estate in Ragala to meet and interact with some beneficiaries of the Indian Housing Project, and also visit a village where 166 houses have been constructed by India for the benefit of estate workers. He will also take the opportunity to visit the Seetha Amman Temple in Seetha Eliya, and from there he will return to Colombo and then depart for India in the afternoon of 20th April.
Now, I’ve already referred to some of the announcements that have been made during this visit. In addition, there are two other announcements that I would draw your attention to. One is the announcement of the resumption of train services on the restored Northern Railway line. This is a project that was undertaken after Cyclone Ditwah and is a part of the rehabilitation package foreseen under that package. And the other one is the announcement of the completion of the installation of three more Bailey bridges, restoring connectivity in areas that had been impacted by Cyclone Ditwah in December last year. One of these is in the Central Province and two are in Uva.
In addition to this, during this visit, we have also seen the signing of memoranda of understanding between the two sides. I just draw your attention to few of those. Essentially, there is this is a first set of six priority projects under the multi-sectoral grant assistance for the Eastern Province, again, in the context of reconstruction post Cyclone Ditwah.
This includes a women’s empowerment project for establishment of batik training centers—all of these are in the Eastern province—the establishment of a premature baby unit at the base hospital in Dehiattakandiya, the construction of an eye, ENT, and mental health unit at base hospital in Muthur, the enhancement of quality OFC seeds protection through contract farmer clusters, the establishment of sustainable Ayurved village, and the establishment of a ward complex at central Ayurvedic dispensary in Gomarankadawala.
Just want to conclude by emphasizing once again that Sri Lanka remains a key partner in India’s Mahasagar vision. Oh yes, there is one more rather important project that I didn't mention. This is the conclusion of an MoU for the construction of a four-story medical ward complex at the District General Hospital in Mullaitivu.
So, as I was saying, Sri Lanka remains a key partner in India’s Mahasagar vision as well as its neighborhood-first policy. This historic, first-ever bilateral visit by the Vice President of India to Sri Lanka follows a tradition of frequent high-level contact between the leadership of the two countries, and we have every reason to believe that it will further reinforce the centuries-old people-to-people ties that bind India and Sri Lanka. I’ll stop there. We have time for a few questions. I’d be happy to answer any questions. Thank you.
Unknown Speaker, AFP (Agence France-Presse): Thank you. [Inaudible] from AFP (Agence France-Presse). I just want to find out, Foreign Secretary, you mentioned about the energy hub, talking about the pipeline and the storage complex. Were there any timelines discussed, because we see that these projects have been mentioned even before, so they don’t seem to have sort of progressed very much. So, are there any sort of new timelines that you have discussed? Thank you.
Motilal Nissala, Rupavahini Corporation: My name is Motilal Nissala. I am from Rupavahini Corporation, the national television station of Sri Lanka. My question is, India has played a significant role in supporting Sri Lanka during the recent economic challenges. Could you outline the future areas of economic partnership and the investment that Sri Lanka can expect? Thank you.
Kelum Bandara, Daily Mirror: Foreign Secretary, I am Kelum Bandara from Daily Mirror. So my question is about the current status of dispersal of this financial package for post-Dithwah reconstruction efforts.
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: So, to Amara, your question about the energy hub. As you’re aware, we have been discussing this for some time. It’s a significant project. It’s something that you’re aware we had—had initial discussions in 2023 about this, and subsequently, it took shape as a three-way cooperation project between India, Sri Lanka, and UAE. It includes the possibility of building a pipeline coming from Southern India, over ground in Sri Lanka to Trincomalee in the first phase, and in parallel includes the possibility of developing the tank farm complex in Trincomalee.
Now, we have shared a considerable amount of information on this with Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan authorities. And I can tell you that this was the subject of fairly detailed conversation even today between the two delegations at different levels. And one of the points that was made, which I also alluded to briefly in my remarks, was that progress on this project would have stood in really good stead, especially at a time like this when both energy prices and energy availability are becoming a difficult question for several countries around the world, especially in this region.
So clearly, there is no further time to lose in making progress on strategic projects such as these. We have not yet established a timeline on this project, but discussions continue. On this, given the fact that it is a complex project with significant financial outlays, there will be some time that will be taken to finalize all the details. But as I said, we did have the opportunity today to underline the importance of the project, the strategic nature of the project, and the urgency behind the project. And we very much look forward to working with our Sri Lankan colleagues to take this idea further. I think if ever there were an idea whose time has come, then this is that idea.
On your question about the future areas of economic partnership. As I said, I think the focus—I mean, first of all, as you know, we have been emphasizing for some time on moving from the traditional model of the partnership between the two countries that has been dominated by aid and credit-tied assistance to investment-driven partnership. And in that context, we have tried to encourage Indian business entities, commercial entities to look at opportunities in Sri Lanka.
And on that front, I think there has been one significant development recently, which is with regard to the investment in Colombo Dockyard by Mazagon Docks of India. I think that’s a very, very positive development. It represents an investment in a highly strategic sector, and given where India and Sri Lanka both are geographically placed, it’s a—it’s a very important investment. Equally, there are ongoing initiatives in the port sector. And I would say that perhaps the two most important sectors where economic partnership can really fructify in the years ahead is the digital area and connectivity.
Now, one part of connectivity is obviously energy connectivity, and I’ve already spoken about that in my answer to the earlier question. But if we look at the project that is also a proposal under discussion related to the interconnection of the electricity grids between the two countries, that is something that can generate enormous direct and indirect benefits within both economies.
On the digital one, as you’re aware, there is work underway right now on developing the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity project. Once—I mean, many of you would have been following the progress of the Aadhaar project in India. I think once the basic digital backbone is established via the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity project, then the sky’s the limit in terms of the kinds of applications and products that Sri Lankan companies, fintech companies can build on the back of that particular infrastructure that is there.
And while these products will be built depending on unique Sri Lankan needs and circumstances, we would obviously be very happy to share our experience of the kinds of products that have been built in India to essentially not just lead to ease of doing business, but even more importantly, the ease of living, as Prime Minister Modi often says. So, this is I think a very exciting project in terms of economic cooperation in the years ahead.
And finally, I would say that the discussions that we have had for some time now on the ETCA, the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement. I think that again is something where we are dealing with different parts of it anyway, but I think the ETCA would bring them together very powerfully under one umbrella and, you know, bring greater coherence to efforts on both sides.
On Kelum, your question on the current status of the dispersal. I think I referred to some of the projects which are contained in the first tranche regarding which MoUs have been signed, and those are all grant-based projects, so they will get underway very, very quickly. I don’t know if the High Commissioner would like to add something on this particular issue.
Shri Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka: See, there are two broad components of that. There is a 350 million dollar line of credit, rupee-denominated, and there is about 100 million that is on grant. So, Foreign Secretary has already outlined some of these projects, for example, in the health sector that we are proceeding with. The railway rehabilitation that has happened on the Northern railway line itself is a five million dollar dispersal and it is completed almost. More importantly, the train services have resumed.
There are also the Bailey bridges that have been supplied. I think we have six or seven already instituted. These are all also more underway as we speak. There are around 10 more which are under construction. So, you know, as steadily, I would say, dispersal is beginning to happen in all the five pillars. We have also had progress on the disaster preparedness and disaster alert system that we are working towards for Sri Lanka, including a island-wide early warning system. So, on that also, some disbursements have happened and more has to take place.
Aschanka, Mathadarana: My name is Aschanka from Mathadarana. This is regarding security concerns in the Indian Ocean, and I want to ask you, like, what are the security-related agreements that you have spoken during this visit? And also, another aspect to that is, how do you view Sri Lanka being non-aligned in this Middle East conflict? And how is India dealing with this conflict? Because yesterday, there was an issue of Indian ships being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Indian officials contacted Iranian ambassador and lodged a complaint. Are there any information regarding that as well?
Dr. Farooqui, Prasar Bharati: Foreign Secretary, I’m Dr. Farooqui from Prasar Bharati, the Indian Public Broadcaster. You mentioned that Vice President had discussions with leaders of the Indian-origin Tamil community as well as leaders from northern and eastern part. Any details with regard to what exactly it entailed in the discussions there?
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: So, on security concerns in the Indian Ocean and discussions during this visit. See, first of all, I think we have to begin with the stipulation that the challenges in this area are shared challenges and we are both affected by them. And these challenges are not limited to one domain. They are multi-domain challenges. There's obviously the challenge of terrorism, there's the challenge of piracy, there is the challenge of trafficking, whether it's drug trafficking, human trafficking, weapons trafficking.
This common area that we live in and the ocean around us is beset with these challenges. So, one of the innovative constructs that India and Sri Lanka have been engaging on for the last several years—and on this, actually, cooperation is already well underway and it's happening at various levels—but it was, it is sought to be formalized under the rubric of the Colombo Security Conclave.
Now, this is something for which there is an interim secretariat that is already running in Colombo. Colombo happens to be the headquarters of the Colombo Security Conclave. And there has been steady progress that has been made in recent years in meetings between the National Security Advisors and their deputies of the various countries to develop the agenda, take it forward, and give this dialogue forum the status of an international organization.
And so, the agreements related to that have all been concluded. We are now waiting for the final conclusion of the headquarters agreement. The first Secretary General of the Colombo Security Conclave, by consensus, will be an Indian national, and we are waiting for the approvals, etc., for him to come through to take up that assignment. I believe there are some procedural requirements related to this in Sri Lanka that are to be carried out.
And this was, this subject of the importance of the Colombo Security Conclave in meeting these kinds of security challenges and the need to complete the final procedural requirements so that the organization can start functioning in right earnest was discussed between the two leaders, and we hope that those requirements can be fulfilled very, very quickly because it would be to the mutual benefit of all of the countries that are part of the Colombo Security Conclave and are concentrated around the littorals of the Indian Ocean.
With regard to Sri Lanka's position in the conflict in West Asia, really, this is a question that the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka is better qualified to answer. We have, of course, observed it and noted it very carefully. I also recall that Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath was in Delhi just a few days after the conflict broke out, and he took part in several discussions there where this question came up, and he very clearly enunciated and articulated Sri Lanka's stand, which, if I recall correctly, based itself on respect for international law and how all actions that Sri Lanka had taken followed international law. So, I mean, that is Sri Lanka's position. I really would not have any comment on that.
Insofar as India's own position is concerned and how we are dealing with it, obviously, the impact of this conflict is being felt by us in various spheres, in the energy availability sphere obviously, as many other countries are feeling. We also have very large Indian expatriate community, nearly 10 million people who live in the Gulf. And then obviously, we are concerned by the fallout of this conflict for regional security in general and for the Gulf countries and Iran in particular.
We have said from the outset that, first of all, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, and that if there are any issues, they ought to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. We have asked for de-escalation to be prioritized, for the safety of civilians to be prioritized, for civilian areas and establishments not to be targeted.
Most importantly, we have called for respect for maritime shipping and mariners. Concern for their safety is paramount as far as we are concerned. We were the first country to lose mariners on board merchant ships. I think four of our people on board ships were killed; I think one is still missing. And therefore, we are extremely disturbed by the attacks that took place on merchant mariners. We have also maintained very, very clearly that international waterways must remain free and open for unimpeded passage of shipping of all kinds, whether it is energy-related trade or other kinds of commerce.
And this is the reason why, as you mentioned with regard to the incident related to Indian ships that came under attack yesterday, we were deeply disturbed by this and we contacted the Iranian authorities and conveyed to them our very deep concern at this development and for, again, to ensure respect for the safety of mariners and respect for the principle of unimpeded passage through international waterways, which is what the Strait of Hormuz is.
Dr. Farooqui, your question on the meetings with the two groups that the Vice President met with today. Of course, in the meeting with the representatives of the Indian-origin Tamil parties, the discussion was mostly focused on the multiple assistance projects that India is undertaking in these areas and the various initiatives that are underway in the health field, in the education field, in the capacity-building field for them.
And he, of course—I mean, now that it has been officially announced, I don't think there's any harm in saying it—he did give them a sneak preview of the announcement that he was going to make later in the evening about the extension of the OCI eligibility scheme and the relaxation of procedures for obtaining the OCI card. And obviously, the progress with regard to various housing projects of which the people living in the plantation areas are the primary beneficiaries, he spoke to them about it.
With the Sri Lankan Tamil party leaders, as you can imagine, a lot of the focus was on the status of the resolution of post-conflict issues, issues related to the restoration of rights over properties, lands, etc., that were affected by the long conflict in Sri Lanka, and also the possibility of moving forward on issues related to devolution, things like provincial elections, etc., which it was noted by many leaders were part of, or figured in the government's own platform, in the ruling party's platform, as things that they would be looking at, and there was an exchange of views on these issues. That's about it. Thank you all.
Aschanka, Mathadarana: Just one more question from me. Foreign Secretary, there have been discussions by Central Bank governors of both countries regarding trade being done using Indian Rupees, especially for trade and tourism sectors. Have there been any discussions regarding this during this visit?
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Not on this specific subject during this visit, but I know that this is an issue that has been discussed for quite some time. And I think local currency settlement of trade is probably already happening between the two countries, and there is some discussion also on linking payment systems between the two countries. But I think the High Commissioner would have the latest details on this.
Shri Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka: Yes, both of them are happening, and in addition, Sri Lanka has also been declared as a country where individuals, entities, companies have been made eligible to borrow in Indian Rupees. So the idea is, and you know that UPI is already active in Sri Lanka and Indian tourists have been using it. So the idea is that more and more Rupee-denominated economic exchanges can happen, whether it is in the trade or in the investment sector.
Deepanshu Khurana, US (DD): Thank you, everyone.
Colombo
April 20, 2026