President Ranil Wickremesinghe returned to the island on Friday night (July 21) after concluding his official two-day visit to India.
This was his first visit to the neighbouring country after taking office in 2022.
Accompanied by a 17-member delegation, Wickremesinghe departed for New Delhi on Thursday (July 20) at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The visit took place as both countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
During the course of his visit, the Sri Lankan leader engaged in bilateral with his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Modi and several other top Indian dignitaries in New Delhi, including billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Dr. S.Jaishankar on a wide range of matters of mutual interest.
The Indian president told President Wickremesinghe that New Delhi’s prolonged support to Sri Lanka in the past year to tide over the economic challenges is a testament to its long-standing commitment to bilateral relations with the island nation.
President Murmu said that India’s partnership is enduring and beneficial to the common people of the two countries and the larger Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and that India looks forward to continuing and strengthening its developmental partnership with Sri Lanka under the leadership of President Wickremesinghe.
Delivering a joint statement with PM Modi following their bilateral talks, President Wickremesinghe expressed his sincere gratitude to the government and people of India for their continued support during Sri Lanka’s most difficult times in recent history.
Commending the impressive economic, infrastructure, and technological advancements made under PM Modi’s leadership, President Wickremesinghe emphasised that India’s growth would have positive impacts on both, the neighbouring countries and the Indian Ocean region.
Meanwhile, PM Modi appealed to the Sri Lankan leader to implement the 13th Amendment and ensure a life of “dignity and respect” for the island nation’s Tamil population.
He also announced a package of INR 75 crores for various development projects in the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka.
During President Wickremesinghe’s visit, Sri Lanka and India adopted a vision document for our Economic Partnership. “This vision is to strengthen the maritime, air, energy and people-to-people connectivity between the people of both the countries. The vision is to accelerate mutual cooperation in tourism, power, trade, higher education and skill development. This is the vision – of India’s long-term commitment towards Sri Lanka,” PM Modi said.
To this end, the two sides agreed to work together for the establishment of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from the southern part of India to Sri Lanka, in a bid to ensure an affordable and reliable supply of energy resources to Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, it was also decided to undertake mutually agreed joint exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Sri Lanka’s offshore basins with an aim to develop Sri Lanka’s upstream petroleum sector.
The resumption of passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka and Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and other mutually agreed places, was alos discussed.
The two leaders agreed to further develop Trincomalee as a national and regional hub of industry, energy and economic activity on the basis of mutual understanding.
In addition, Sri Lanka and India also signed five key Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on (1) animal husbandry and dairying, (2) cooperation in the field of renewable energy, (3) cooperation for economic development projects in Trincomalee District, (4) Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance in Sri Lanka, and (5) energy permit for Sampur Solar Power Project.
The signed agreements were exchanged in the presence of the Indian PM and the Sri Lankan President.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the upcoming Group of Seven summit in a phone call on Friday (6), as the two sides look to mend ties after relations soured in the past two years.
The leaders agreed to remain in contact and looked forward to meeting at the G7 summit later this month, a readout from Carney’s office said.
India is not a G7 member but can be invited as a guest to its annual gathering, which will be held this year in Kananaskis in the Canadian province of Alberta, from June 15 to 17.
“Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister (Carney) … thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit,” Modi said in a post on X.
Modi also stated in his post on Friday that India and Canada would work together “with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests.”
Bilateral ties deteriorated after Canada accused India of involvement in a Sikh separatist leader’s murder, and of attempting to interfere in two recent elections. Canada expelled several top Indian diplomats and consular officials in October 2024 after linking them to the murder and alleged a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada.
New Delhi has denied the allegations, and expelled the same number of Canadian diplomats in response.
India is Canada’s 10th largest trading partner and Canada is the biggest exporter of pulses, including lentils, to India.
Carney, who is trying to diversify trade away from the United States, said it made sense for the G7 to invite India, since it had the fifth-largest economy in the world and was at the heart of a number of supply chains.
“In addition, bilaterally, we have now agreed, importantly, to continued law enforcement dialogue, so there’s been some progress on that, that recognizes issues of accountability. I extended the invitation to prime minister Modi in that context,” he told reporters in Ottawa.
Four Indian nationals have been charged in the killing of the Sikh separatist leader.
The President’s Media Division (PMD) has issued an official statement highlighting a serious procedural irregularity involving the release of a prisoner from Anuradhapura Prison, who was not approved under the presidential pardon granted for the 2025 Vesak festival.
According to the PMD, W.H. Athula Thilakaratne, an inmate serving a sentence for financial fraud, was released despite not being included in the list of prisoners approved by the President for a general pardon.
The PMD clarified that under Article 34(1) of the Constitution, the President has the authority to grant pardons to convicted prisoners.
Accordingly, a list of prisoners selected by the Prison Superintendents is forwarded to the Ministry of Justice.
The list is examined by the Ministry of Justice and then sent to the Presidential Secretariat. With the approval of the President, those prisoners are granted a general pardon, the PMD stated.
In this instance, the official list—submitted by the Commissioner General of Prisons on May 6, 2025—included 388 names.
However, the name of the individual imprisoned at Anuradhapura Prison in connection with financial fraud was not included in that list.
“This individual was not included in the list of 388 prisoners granted a presidential pardon,” the PMD stated.
In light of this development, the Presidential Secretariat lodged a formal complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (June 6), under the title “Release of a Prisoner without Presidential Approval under the Presidential Pardon.”
The PMD further confirmed that a formal investigation has been launched, and disciplinary measures will be taken against any officials found responsible for the irregular release.(adaderana.lk) (This story, originally published by adaderana.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)
The Department of Prisons has issued a statement defending the release of W. M. Athula Tilakaratne, a former finance company manager convicted of misappropriating Rs. 4 million, clarifying that it was part of a general presidential pardon granted on Vesak Poya Day.
Prisons Media Spokesman and Commissioner Gamini B. Dissanayake stated that Tilakaratne was among a group of inmates released under the annual Vesak pardon, which is granted to prisoners who meet certain conditions. He noted that the individual was not specifically singled out for release, but was eligible under the general criteria due to his sentence and the remission of the fine imposed by court.
According to the statement, Tilakaratne had been convicted under Section 386 of the Penal Code and sentenced to a suspended prison term with a fine of Rs. 20 lakhs as compensation. The High Court had also ruled that failure to pay the fine would result in six months of rigorous imprisonment. His release was granted as the fine was waived under the Vesak pardon provisions.
The Department emphasized that Tilakaratne was released in accordance with existing procedures and that the pardon was not targeted or exceptional.
Yesterday, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Ajith P. Perera raised questions in Parliament regarding the pardon, highlighting that the release occurred just weeks after Tilakaratne’s conviction. He called on the government to explain the process and transparency behind granting such pardons, especially as the individual is reportedly facing other cases as well.
The government did not respond to the MP’s query during the session.
(newswire.lk)
(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by newswire.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)
