Indian Prime Minister held talks with Sri Lankan President in Sri Lanka on Saturday and witnessed the signing of energy and defense deals between the two countries.
The deals are seen as an effort to consolidate New Delhi’s influence in the neighboring island nation, which is heavily indebted to China.
A five-year defense cooperation agreement provides for the training of military personnel in India and the exchange of information and technology.
Security cooperation in the Indian Ocean
Modi welcomed agreements on defense cooperation and said both would collaborate on security cooperation in the Indian Ocean through the Colombo Security Conclave, which also includes Bangladesh, the , and Mauritius.
“I am grateful to President Dissanayake for his sensitivity towards India’s interests. We believe that we have shared security interests. The security of both countries is interconnected and co-dependent,” Modi said.
The Sri Lankan leader stressed that he understood the concerns of his neighbor.
“I have reiterated our position to Prime Minister Modi that Sri Lankan territory will not be allowed to be used by anyone to undermine India’s security,” Dissanayake said.
The two leaders also virtually inaugurated the construction of a 120-megawatt Indian-funded solar power plant, which is being built as a joint venture between the two countries.
Located in the island’s northeastern district of Trincomalee, the solar plant had been stalled for years. With support from New Delhi, it was revived.
Sri Lanka’s balancing act between India and China
is increasingly concerned about China’s influence in Sri Lanka, which it sees as falling within its sphere of interest.
China is Sri Lanka’s largest single bilateral creditor, accounting for more than half of its $14 billion bilateral debt when the island defaults on its sovereign debt in 2022.
Sri Lanka’s changed the country’s priorities and created an opportunity for India, as New Delhi stepped in with massive financial and material assistance.
At the same time, China’s assistance in restructuring its infrastructure loans is vital for Sri Lanka.
Dissanayake’s first overseas visit was to New Delhi in December, but he followed that up with a visit to Beijing in January, underscoring .
In January, Sri Lanka announced it had signed an agreement with a Chinese state-owned company to invest $3.7 billion in an oil refinery in the south of the island.
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