India ready to extend further cooperation to Sri Lanka in water, sanitation & agriculture

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay in a meeting with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahindra Rajapaksa said that New Delhi was ready for further cooperation with Colombo. Baglay said that as per Sri Lanka's requirements, India is ready for collaboration with Colombo in water, sanitation, agriculture and manufacturing. After the Virtual Bilateral Summit (VBS) between the Prime Minister's of India and Sri Lanka, Bagley met Rajapaksa for the first time. 

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'India is ready to develop bilateral cooperation with Sri Lanka'

In a statement, Gopal Bagley said that Thursday's meeting provided an excellent opportunity to followup on the implementation of the decisions taken in that high-level interaction last month. Taking to Twitter, Rajapaksa wrote that the possibility to collaborate with PM Modi's 'Jal Jeevan Mission' was explored in the meeting. 'Jal Jeevan Mission' was launched by PM Modu on August 15, 2019. This project aims to provide a safe and adequate water connection to every household in the rural areas of the country by 2024. 

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In another subsequent tweet, PM Rajapaksa has requested the H.C. to look for opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector and encourage Indian investors to establish manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka. As per the Indian High Commission statement, Bagley responded positively to the suggestions made by the PM Rajapaksa for Indian investment in research and manufacturing in Sri Lanka. 

The official statement read, "The High Commissioner mentioned to the Prime Minister that he and his colleagues in the High Commission had fruitful discussions in the days since VBS with a number of senior members of Sri Lanka's Council of Ministers, including in the areas of the economy, connectivity, power and energy, agriculture and animal husbandry, development cooperation, education &capacity building, water and sanitation, health and pharmaceuticals, culture and people-to-people relations."

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While recalling PM Modi's announcement of USD 15 million assistance during VBS to promote Buddhist ties between two countries, Bagley said that PM Modi is focussed to promote people-to-people relations. He also added that the details of the implementation of this grant assistance are being discussed with the Sri Lankan authorities. 

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(With ANI inputs)