Lanka PM asks India to invest, set up SEZs in his country

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday called on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who sought Indian investment and offered partnership in setting up a Special Economic Zone besides briefing her on latest political developments in the country. Swaraj, who arrived here on Friday on her second visit to the country within a year, held talks with Wickremesinghe at the Prime Minister’s Office ‘Temple Trees’, and the two leaders had a “fruitful exchange of views”. During their 50-minute long meeting, the Prime Minister sought Indian investment in Sri Lanka and proposed partnership in setting up an SEZ in Trincomalee, officials said. “Their talks began with the discussion on the Indo-Lanka Joint Commission meeting and the Prime Minister said this is a very important forum for the two sides to advance in bilateral partnership in all areas,” they said. Wickremesinghe also proposed to make the Joint Commission meeting an annual affair. The two leaders also talked about state university linkages. The joint commission was set up in 1992 as a mechanism to address issues of bilateral cooperation. The last meeting of the Joint Commission was held in New Delhi in January 2013.