"India marching towards economic glory": Sri Lanka Foreign Minister sees mutual benefits

Colombo [Sri Lanka], May 21 : Hailing the 'excellent' relationship between Colombo and New Delhi, Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said that India is marching towards economic glory, which is not only good for the region but also for countries like Sri Lanka.

He said Sri Lanka is also looking at a lot of investment in ports, renewable energy, and other infrastructure, which makes it a win-win situation for both nations.

"We have an excellent relationship, I think almost all-time high. There is a multi-faceted partnership between the two countries. Economically, we are trying to engage with each other for the common benefit of each other... I think that will open up many more avenues for the Indian to visit Colombo and see," Sabry told ANI.

"And we are looking at a lot of investment in ports and renewable energy, in other infrastructure. So going forward, we see a win-win situation for both countries. As I always maintained, India is marching towards economic glory, and that's good for the region and good for the countries like Sri Lanka," he added.

Shedding light on the civilizational ties shared between Sri Lanka and India, Sabry noted that all the communities in the island nation are influenced by Indian civilization.

"I think the entire civilizational contact we have had for a long period of time in multifaceted Buddhism is Sri Lanka's biggest gift from India. So there is so much in common between the countries," he said.

"All communities, Buddhists, Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, all have been influenced by the Indian civilization. So we see a lot of partnership going forward, and this Ramayan trail may be a very good beginning for us to further spur the already good tourism and people-to-people connection," he added.

The sacred water, drawn from the revered Saryu River in Ayodhya, India, marked the auspicious beginning of a journey destined for the Seetha Amman Temple in Seetha Eliya last week. The event, which resonated with ancient traditions and divine reverence, symbolized the deep-rooted cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka.

Seetha Amman Temple, nestled in the tranquil village of Seetha Eliya, holds profound mythological significance as the purported location, Goddess Sita was held captive by Ravana, according to ancient lore.

Enhancing the sanctity of the ceremony, five revered Kalash filled with Saryu water from the holy city of Ayodhya have been ceremoniously brought in, infusing the proceedings with spiritual resonance and symbolic purity.

In terms of connectivity, both nations are, at present, looking at the feasibility of it, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said, "I think connectivity, we are looking at the feasibility of it right now. After the President's visit, Chief of Staff Sagal Ratnaikar visited with a host of senior officials to India, and they had a very good discussion. So like right now we are looking at the feasibility of it. I see once the feasibility is there, probably connectivity things will open."

"And already I think more flight connections have started from Sri Lanka and from India and also vice versa. Similarly, we are very excited about the launch of the ferry services. So connectivity is multifaceted. Some of those things will take time. But the desire to connect both sides of people and then to help each other is there from both sides," Sabry added.

The ferry service between Nagappatinam in India and Kankesanthurai (KKS) near Jaffna is a high-speed ferry operated by the Shipping Corporation of India and has a capacity of 150 passengers, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The distance of about 60 nm (110 Km) between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai will be covered in approximately 3.5 hours depending on sea conditions, according to MEA.

In order to start the ferry service, the Indian government supported the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board in upgrading facilities at the Nagapattinam port. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government had created the necessary infrastructure at the port of KKS.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister also expressed condolences on the demise of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a helicopter crash on Sunday afternoon in northwestern Iran.

"We are deeply saddened by both the Iranian president and the party ministers this sudden demise on tragic circumstances. They have been good friends of Sri Lanka. I visited Iran. Iranian foreign minister and the president visited Sri Lanka very recently. So naturally, we are very saddened by this tragic death and also condolences to the family and the people of Iran," Sabry said.

The chopper, which also carried other officials, had disappeared in the mountains of northwestern Iran after making a 'hard landing' on Sunday. All those onboard were confirmed killed on Monday morning around 16 hours after the helicopter they were travelling in crashed in poor weather.

Raisi was returning to Iran following a visit to Azerbaijan when his helicopter came down in bad weather conditions.

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