Sri Lanka’s India First security policy encouraging: Deputy HC

Deputy Indian High Commissioner Vinod K. Jacob said it was encouraging to note ‘the clear declaration of India First Security policy’ by Sri Lankan government.

He said it reflected a fair assessment of the current state of security cooperation between India and Sri Lanka.

In his address at the Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka India Society in Colombo on September 24, he assessed the strong engagement between India and Sri Lanka during the past year including in the context of mutual support in dealing with Covid-19 related challenges.

According to a statement by the Indian High Commission, he recalled the smooth coordination in facilitating evacuation flights for stranded nationals in each other's country.

The strong support given by the Government of Sri Lanka in repatriation of nearly 700 stranded Indian nationals on board INS Jalashwa in early June was particularly noteworthy.

Deputy High Commissioner Jacob observed that both sides are working towards revitalizing the economic engagement and people to people links.

He highlighted the ongoing cooperation in the defence and security fields. Recently, the close cooperation between the Sri Lankan and Indian forces ensured that the fire on the MT New Diamond was successfully controlled and the ship stabilised.

Recalling that the India - Sri Lanka development cooperation partnership had concluded it's fifteenth anniversary, Deputy High Commissioner Jacob said the overall portfolio currently stood at close to USD 3.45 billion.

He also expressed confidence that India could be a reliable partner for Sri Lanka in attaining post millennium energy security through cooperation in both traditional and renewable forms of energy.