Indian envoy in Sri Lanka visits Northern and Eastern Provinces; hold talks with Tamil leaders

Colombo: India's top diplomat in Colombo held talks with senior Tamil leaders during his visit to the Northern and Eastern Provinces and emphasised that achieving the legitimate aspirations of the minority Tamil community through meaningful devolution within a united Sri Lanka will contribute to peace, inclusive progress and strength of the island nation.

During his three-day visit to the two provinces from March 11 to 13, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay also highlighted India's long-standing cooperation and commitment to the development of the Northern and Eastern Provinces in accordance with the requirements of the people and priorities set by their elected representatives, the Indian High Commission here said in a statement on Sunday.

Baglay, who held a series of meetings with Tamil party leaders during his visit, recalled commitments of the Sri Lankan Government on the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, peace and dignity, it said.

He maintained that achieving them through meaningful devolution within a united Sri Lanka will also contribute to peace, reconciliation, inclusive progress and strength of the country, it added.

During his meetings, the Tamil leaders sought further assistance for infrastructural development, more economic investment and additional projects under grant assistance for development cooperation from India in the Province.

Baglay assured them of continued cooperation from India in these spheres.

His visit came in the backdrop of the Sri Lanka resolution to be moved at the UN Human Rights Council next week.

The resolution accuses Sri Lanka of war crimes with threats to take those responsible to the International Courts and impose targeted sanctions against officials allegedly responsible for human rights violations during the country's three decade long civil war.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also had a telephonic conversation on Saturday during which they reviewed topical developments as well as ongoing cooperation between the two countries in bilateral and multilateral forums.

The two leaders agreed to maintain regular contact between relevant officials, including in the context of the continuing COVID-19 challenges, a Prime Minister's Office statement (PMO) said in New Delhi.