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India-Sri Lanka to consult on repatriation of thousands of refugees

Xinhua, January 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lanka and India have decided to look into ways of sending back thousands of refugees that fled during a three-decade conflict, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said here on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka's newly elected Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj agreed to commence a consultative process to re-engage on the issue of repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Despite the end of a three-decade war in 2009, the number of returnees from India has dwindled, partly due to security concerns in the northern part of Sri Lanka.

Samaraweera who was on his first overseas visit since assuming duties last week had also extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Sri Lanka. "Minister Samaraweera extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi from the President Maithripala Sirisena to visit Sri Lanka at an early date, which the prime minister accepted,"the statement added.

This would be the first official visit by an Indian prime minister after the official visit by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1987.

Newly elected president Maithripala Sirisena has already confirmed his first official visit will be to India.

The minister said that Sri Lanka is looking forward to the enhancement of economic cooperation with India, which is heading towards great economic progress under Prime Minister Modi.

Samaraweera also met National Security Advisor of India, Ajit Doval and paid courtesy calls on the Leader of the Indian National Congress, Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Both sides are keen to shore up relations that were allowed to frost during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's tenure.

Sirisena's new government has also agreed to move forward with key power devolution to the minority Tamil population, which India has a historic stake in. Endi