Nuclear agreement on cards as Sri Lankan president visits India

Photo: AP

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit to India may see the two nations coming together for a nuclear agreement, taking the bilateral ties to a new height, according to the reports of India’s Deccan Herald.

The newly elected Sri Lankan President arrived in the Capital on Sunday, with this being his maiden trip to the nation. This proposed nuclear deal would further act as fresh momentum to the reconciliation process, with the Indian side focusing on the Chinese role in the infrastructural development in Sri Lanka that had rapidly grown under the reign of the previous President Mahinda Rajapaksa. With Rajapaksa gone, US and India are keen to wean away the Chinese influence on the island nation.

In this deal, India would also seek clarity from it’s counter-part over the status of the Colombo port city-project, a $1.4 billion Chinese funded assignment that has security implications for New Delhi.

Sri Lanka, according to China, has a pivotal position in Beijing’s Maritime silk road initiative to build port facilities in their region. PM Narendra Modi, with this in mind, will undertake a four-nation Indian Ocean tour covering the nations of Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles, starting from March 10.

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