Indian Modi visits Sri Lanka to support defensive and energy relationships Nardra Modi News

The Indian leader is the first foreign figure to visit the Al -Jazeera nation since the left -year Desinaik swept the elections last year.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sri Lanka to enhance defensive relations and historical energy, where Colombo is balanced with its strong neighbor and its largest lender, China.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disianaak launched the red carpet of Moody and welcomed him with a greeting of 19 rifles in the independence field of the capital on Saturday.

The Indian leader is the first foreign figure to visit the island since Dissanayake The elections were swept last year.

Moody was also granted with Methara Fehashhan, the highest civil honor in Sri Lanka, by Desanai.

The Indian leader thanked the Sri Lankan president and said that honor “not only mine but belongs to the people of India of 140 crores (1.4 billion).”

“We think our security interests are aligned,” Modi said during a TV ceremony from the Desianuki office in Colombo. “Our security is interconnected and interrelated.”

The two countries have signed a five -year defensive cooperation agreement to train Sri Lankan military personnel in India in addition to exchanging information and technology.

Disianaki praised what he called “the rise of India as a global authority, not just a regional power.”

He added: “I have repeated our position to Prime Minister Moody that the Sri Lankan lands will not be allowed to use them to undermine the security of India.”

India had previously objected to Chinese submarines and research ships that contacted the main sea port in Colombo. Sri Lanka has not allowed Chinese submarines to dock since 2014, after India has raised concerns about two such visit.

Last year, Colombo imposed a ban on foreign research ships after New Delhi accused that Chinese ships were used to spy on India.

However, the most prominent in the visit was the launch of a solar power plant 120 megawatts in Sambur, in the northeast of Trincumali, on the island. The factory has stopped for years, but was activated with the support of New Delhi as a joint project.

Reports from Colombo, Minel Fernandez Island, said Disianaki is also expected to discuss the issue of fishermen from the southern southern state of Tamil Nadu. Includes infringement In regional waters Sri Lankan.

She said: “Hundreds of Indian fishing tits carry fish using a mechanical system called the lower net, which also destroys the environment,” she said.

Balancing law

Moody’s visit came when Colombo wrestled with the competing interests of New Delhi and Beijing.

India was concerned about the increasing influence in China in Sri Lanka, which it considers in its geopolitical influence.

It was the first foreign visit to Dissanayake as President of New Delhi in December, but he continued this with a visit to Beijing in January, confirming the Langka Square Budget Law.

China has emerged as the largest individual dual creditor in Sri Lanka, which represents more than half of its bilateral debts, which was at the time when the island failed its sovereign debt in 2022.

Beijing was the first to restructure its loans to Sri Lanka, a step that cleared the way for the island to emerge from the worst economic collapse of that year.

Colombo also signed an agreement in January with a Chinese state -owned company that will invest $ 3.7 billion in an oil refinery in the south of the island. It will be the biggest foreign investment in Sri Lanka and is seen as a crucial matter for the island’s economy.

Moody arrived in Sri Lanka late Friday from a summit in Thailand and a series of meetings with the leaders of regional countries, as he sought to strengthen India’s relations with neighbors.

On the sidelines of the Bangkok Bimstec meeting-the seven countries gathered on the Bay of Bengal-Moody held a rare meeting to face with the Prime Minister of Myanmar Military Government Min Ong Hulang.

Even Holding talks With Mohamed Younis, the temporary leader of the neighboring Bangladesh-the first such meeting since a revolution in Dhaka removed the New Delhi ally in the long run Sheikh.

India was the largest donor in Hasina’s government and sent the overthrow of border relations to a tail, and reached its climax in Yunus the choice of making the first visit to the state last month to China.

Moody also met on Friday in Bangkok with his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli, the first since Kathmandu’s leader returned to power last year, as well as Tschering Tobgay from Bhutan.