INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sri Lanka PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and PM Narendra Modi (Photo: PTI/file)Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda
Rajapaksa will hold a virtual bilateral summit on Saturday at 11 am
PM Modi and Sri Lankan PM Rajapaksa are expected to deliberate on a host of issues like defence and trade ties, among others.At the virtual
meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa is likely to discuss the issue of Indian fishermen trespassing into the Sri
Lankan waters.Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has assured the northern fishermen that he will take stern action against illegal poaching by
Indian fishermen due to which, the Sri Lankan fishermen face an annual loss of $40 million.“The number of Indian trawlers poaching Sri
Lankan waters have increased significantly
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will be discussing the ongoing fishery dispute and the difficulties faced by the Northern Fishermen with PM
Narendra Modi via the virtual summit to be held tomorrow,” a statement by the Sri Lankan PMO said."Will raise it with PM Modi in the
virtual summit today," he said.Ahead of the virtual bilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a tweet, said he looks
forward to review the multifaceted bilateral relationship between the two nations."Looking forward to interacting with PM @narendramodi at
the virtual summit scheduled for 26th September
We expect to review the multifaceted bilateral relationship between our nations, ranging from politics, economics, defense, tourism and
other areas of mutual interest," Mahinda Rajapaksa said.Ahead of the virtual meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan PM Mahinda
Rajapaksa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the summit will give an opportunity to the two leaders to comprehensively review the
broad framework of time-tested bilateral ties.MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava also said the virtual summit is expected to further deepen
the collaborative partnership between India and Sri Lanka on key issues of mutual interest."A virtual bilateral summit under challenging
circumstances posed by COVID-19 testifies to the deep-rooted civilisational ties and shared heritage between the two neighbouring
countries," he said.(With PTI inputs)
