Besides inking a slew of agreements, the ongoing visit of Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, his first ever to any foreign country after assuming the reins of power in the island nation, is important for two main reasons.
One, the decision to visit India first and not China is a statement of his intent to maintain a fine balance in his ties with the two Asian giants. After New Delhi, the Lankan President is scheduled to visit Beijing in the beginning of 2025.
Interestingly, the first visit of Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli after assuming power in Kathmandu was to China where on December 3, he signed a nine-point agreement mainly relating to enhancing connectivity, infrastructure, spurring development and increasing trade.
Both Nepal and Sri Lanka are already signatories to China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The second is President Dissanayaka's declaration after meeting PM Narendra Modi on Monday that Sri Lanka won’t allow its territory to be used against India. “I assured the Indian leader that Sri Lanka will not permit its territory to be used in any manner inimical to the security of India as well as towards regional stability,” he had said.
A joint statement issued on Monday by the two leaders said: “India being Sri Lanka’s closest maritime neighbour, President Dissanayaka reiterated Sri Lanka’s stated position of not permitting its territory to be used in any manner inimical to the security of India as well as towards regional stability.”
Dissanayaka also expressed his gratitude for India’s assistance of about $4 billion in 2022 when Colombo was going through a period of economic doldrums.
With defence collaboration between nations being seen as a key parameter of a good relationship, the military pacts agreed to between India and Sri Lanka are of paramount importance.
A notable point is the agreement to explore the possibility of concluding a framework agreement on defence cooperation which has been specified as cooperation in hydrography, providing Sri Lanka with military equipment and enhancing its defence capabilities besides intensifying collaboration through joint exercises, maritime surveillance, and defence dialogue and exchanges.
Significantly, President Dissanayaka has also requested India’s support for Sri Lanka’s application to become a member of the BRICS, a multilateral grouping that has Russia and China, among others, as members.
With Indian foreign policy suffering acknowledged reverses due to domestic politics in Bangladesh among others, India should try its best to improve its strategic standing in its neighbourhood—as in the case of Maldives where Indian diplomacy came back strongly after a regime change, whether India’s influence grows in Sri Lanka is a test that time will tell.
