10 Key Agreements India and Sri Lanka Signed During PM Modi’s Visit

It was a foregone conclusion that India and Sri Lanka would sign a defence cooperation pact on Saturday and, in this regard, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi laid out a broader blueprint for deeper bilateral relations. The security of both countries is most intimately connected to each other.

This is, in fact, the first such framework to be signed between the two countries for joint military exercises, training programs, and high-level exchanges.

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The eventual defence agreement was one among several major pacts signed after extensive talks between PM Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It goes on to mark a new milestone in their strategic relationship, nearly 40 years after India's Peace Keeping Force was sent into Sri Lanka.

“We believe that our security interests are similar. The security of both countries is interlinked and dependent on each other,” Modi said in his media statement.

“I am grateful to President Dissanayake for his sensitivity towards India's interests. We welcome the important agreements concluded in defence cooperation,” he added.

In his comments, Sri Lankan President Dissanayake assured Modi that the island would not permit its territory to be used in ways that could possibly harm India's security. Dissanayake said he also conveyed to Modi that “India's assistance to Sri Lanka in times of need and continuing solidarity are deeply cherished.”

The talks took place the day after PM Modi arrived at Colombo after paying a visit to Bangkok for the BIMSTEC summit.

In all, ten agreements were signed between both sides in different areas like digital transformation, debt restructuring, health and medicine.

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1. They also inaugurated virtually the foundation stone laying of the Sampur power project, which will be built with Indian assistance in order to convert Trincomalee into an energy hub. “The Sampur Solar Power Plant will help in Sri Lanka's energy security. All the people of Sri Lanka will benefit from the agreements signed for building a multi-product pipeline and developing Trincomalee as an energy hub,” Modi said.
2. According to Modi, the intergrid agreement signed between the two countries would allow Sri Lanka an opportunity to study the possibilities of electricity exports.
3. MoU was also signed on the interconnection of electricity grids for facilitating power trade between the two countries.
4. A tripartite MoU involving the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was also signed, aimed at this energy hub in Trincomalee that includes constructing a multi-product energy pipeline.
5. And one more MoU would enable India to share its digital solutions with Sri Lanka to help in its digital transformation.
6. As part of an economic and social support package for the eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, Modi announced to the country a sum of approximately 2.4 billion Sri Lanka rupees.
7. Additionally, the two leaders have inaugurated virtually a solar rooftop project that will be implemented on credit from India, at an amount of $17 million to cover 5,000 religious places in Sri Lanka. The project will bring benefits to Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim shrines and will generate 25 MW of green power.
8. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India and Ministry of Health & Mass Media, Sri Lanka signed a memorandum of understanding for collaboration in health and medicine.
9. Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission and National Medicines Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka entered into an MoU to enhance the cooperation in the area of pharmacopoeial standards and practices.

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