New Delhi: India and Sri Lanka on Thursday launched a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), reflecting the deepening maritime security cooperation between the two sides, as external affairs minister S Jaishankar met the top leadership in Colombo to bolster ties in a range of areas.
Jaishankar was on his first foreign visit after beginning his second term as the foreign minister, with the choice of Sri Lanka as the destination signalling New Delhi’s continued focus on its “Neighbourhood First” policy.
The inauguration of the MRCC came six months after Sri Lanka declared a year-long moratorium on foreign research ships entering its waters amid India’s concerns over Chinese surveillance vessels docking in its neighbourhood.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Jaishankar participated in a ceremony to hand over more than 150 houses built under two India-backed housing projects that are among the flagship initiatives of New Delhi’s development cooperation. Over the past two years, Sri Lanka has benefited from a range of initiatives aimed at bolstering energy, financial and physical connectivity.
The commissioning of the MRCC, which comprises a main centre at the Sri Lanka Navy headquarters in Colombo and a sub-centre in Hambantota, was described in a readout from the Sri Lankan president’s office as the highlight of the meeting between Jaishankar and Wickremesinghe.
{{/usCountry}}The commissioning of the MRCC, which comprises a main centre at the Sri Lanka Navy headquarters in Colombo and a sub-centre in Hambantota, was described in a readout from the Sri Lankan president’s office as the highlight of the meeting between Jaishankar and Wickremesinghe.
{{/usCountry}}“This initiative underscores the deepening maritime security cooperation between India and Sri Lanka,” the readout said.
Built with a grant of $6 million from India, the MRCC includes seven unmanned installations at strategic locations across Sri Lanka’s coastline – Galle, Arugambay, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kallarawa, Point Pedro and Mollikulam. The MRCC, established by state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), will serve as the nerve centre for search and rescue operations at the sea.
A memorandum of understanding for the centre was signed in March 2022, and Sri Lankan Navy teams have been trained by BEL in Bengaluru and Colombo to operate the MRCC.
In a post on X soon after his arrival in Colombo, Jaishankar said Sri Lanka is central to India’s “Neighborhood First” and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) policies. In a separate post regarding his meeting with Wickremesinghe, Jaishankar appreciated the progress made on different bilateral projects and initiatives. “Under President @RW_UNP’s guidance, discussed the way forward for the cooperation, especially in power, energy, connectivity, port infrastructure, aviation, digital, health, food security, education and tourism sectors,” he said.
“Committed to working for the steady development of our traditionally close and friendly ties,” Jaishankar added.
Wickremesinghe and Jaishankar jointly unveiled a digital plaque to hand over 106 houses built under the Indian Housing Project in the three districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Matale. These houses are part of the third phase of the project to build a total of 4,000 houses, and more than 3,700 houses have already been handed over to beneficiaries.
The two leaders unveiled another digital plaque to hand over 24 more houses in two model villages for the poor in Colombo and Trincomalee. The model village housing project covers all 25 districts of Sri Lanka, and model villages consisting of 24 houses each have already been handed over in nine districts.
Jaishankar held a separate meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry, and said on X that their discussions covered prospects in capacity building and shared engagement. They also discussed greater multilateral cooperation, especially in BIMSTEC, IORA and the UN.
Jaishankar also held separate meetings with both ruling and opposition politicians. These meetings assume significance as Sri Lanka is expected to hold presidential elections later this year.
During his meeting with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Jaishankar reiterated “India’s strong support through development and connectivity initiatives”, he said in a post on X. “Confident that our development assistance and capacity building programs will keep delivering for the aspirations of people of Sri Lanka,” he added.
Jaishankar also met former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed bilateral cooperation. “Nice to meet the leader of opposition @sajithpremadasa and his delegation during my Sri Lanka visit. Thank GL Peiris, @EranWick, Niroshan Perera, Palini Thigambaram @Rauff_Hakeem and V Radhakrishnan for joining,” he said in a post on X.
“Appreciate the bipartisan support for stronger India-Sri Lanka relationship. An insightful discussion on making our partnership even more robust,” Jaishankar added.