Relation at a Glance |

India and Sri Lanka – Relations at a Glance (February 2014- February 2019)

Establishment of Relations	1948¹
Brief History	The relationship between India and Sri Lanka is more than 2,500 years old. The relationship has been marked by close contacts at all levels.² Formed under mandate of 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord to end ethnic strife, Indian Peace Keeping Force performed peacekeeping operations in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. Following the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, India pledged US $100 million for relief rehabilitation and reconstruction purposes for Internally Displaced Persons and disadvantaged sections of the Sri Lanka’s population.^3,4 India was also involved in relief and rehabilitation operations in Sri Lanka following the 2004 tsunami and the flood devastation in 2017.⁵ Both the countries have signed a number of Agreements, including a trilateral maritime security cooperation agreement signed by India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to improve surveillance, anti-piracy operations and reducing maritime pollution in Indian Ocean Region. India is also Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner globally facilitated by the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement that was signed in 1998 and entered into force in March 2000.⁶ Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka in 2015, 2017, and June 2019. The 2015 visit was the first by an Indian prime minister since 1987. June 2019 was the first by any foreign dignitary after the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks in the country.⁷
National Leaders of India	Head of State: Shri Ram Nath Kovind Head of Government: Shri Narendra Modi
National Leaders of Sri Lanka	Head of State: His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena Head of Government: His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena
Key Visits to Sri Lanka (President, VP, PM)	Year President’s Prime Minister’s 2014 – 2019 – June 09, 2019 ⁸ May 11-12, 2017⁹ March 13-14, 2015¹⁰ Prior 2014 – August 01-03 2008 ¹¹
Key Visits to India	Year President’s Prime Minister’s 2014 – 2019 May 30 2019 November 06-07, 2016 ¹³ May 13-14, 2016 ¹³ February 15-18, 2015 ¹² October 18-20, 2018¹⁹ November 21-24, 2017 ¹⁸ April 25-29, 2017 ¹⁷ October 04-06, 2016 ¹⁶ September 14-16, 2015 ¹⁵ Prior 2014 September 19 2012 ²⁰ November 25 2006 ²¹
Main Treaties and Agreements and Dialogues	During the period February 2014 to February 2019: 2 Agreements, 1 Program of Cultural Cooperation.²²
MOUs	During the period February 2014 to February 2019: 6 MOUs, 1 Work Plan under MoU.²³
Joint Working Groups	Joint Working Group on Fisheries India-Sri Lanka Joint Committee on Fisheries related issues ²⁴ Joint Study Group (JSG) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership ²⁵
Bilateral Trade	Trade 2014-19 (in USD)²⁶ 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 Total Imports (India from Sri Lanka) 756.17 742.79 602.2 772.63 1,472.83 Total Exports (India to Sri Lanka) 6,703.72 5,310.75 3,913.15 4,476.46 4,708.50 Total Trade 7459.89 6053.54 4515.35 5249.09 6181.33 Balance of Trade 5947.55 4567.96 3310.95 3703.83 3235.67 India Exports to Sri Lanka (2019) 1. Salt; Sulphur; Earth and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement. 2. Iron and Steel 3. Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts Thereof. 4. Pharmaceutical Products 5. Cotton 6. Ships, Boats and Floating Structures 7. Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous substances; Mineral Waxes. India Imports from Sri Lanka (2019) 1. Ships Boats and Floating Structures 2. Rubber and Articles Thereof 3. Residues and Waste from the Food Industries; Prepared Animal Fodder 4. Coffee, tea, mate and spices 5. Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof. 6. Articles of Apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted. 7. Edible Fruit and Nuts; Peel or Citrus Fruit or Melons.
Grants/Loans/Aid	Since 2005, GoI has committed a total of USD 2.6 billion to Sri Lanka, out of which USD 436 million is grant assistance and USD 2.17 billion under Lines of Credit. 2008-09: ₹ 34.00 Crores2009-10: ₹ 90.00 Crores2010-11: ₹ 90.00 Crores2011-12: ₹ 181.94 Crores2012-13: ₹ 248.20 Crores2013-14: ₹ 420.80 Crores2014-15: ₹ 499.70 Crores2015-16: ₹ 403.80 Crores2016-17: ₹ 99.16 Crores2017-18: ₹ 77.89 Crores2018-19: ₹165 Crores (revised estimated) 2019-20: ₹ 250 Crores (budget estimated) ²⁷
Ongoing Negotiations	Sri Lanka, India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in May 2019 to jointly develop the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port in Sri Lanka ²⁸ The agreement CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) which is yet to be signed between the countries, seeks to build on the momentum generated by the FTA and take the two economies beyond trade in goods towards greater integration and impart renewed impetus and synergy to bilateral economic interaction. ²⁹
Disputes	A Joint Working Group (JWG) has been constituted to deal with the issues related to Indian fishermen straying in Sri Lankan territorial waters, work out modalities for prevention of use of force against them and the early release of confiscated boats and explore possibilities of working towards bilateral arrangements for licensed fishing. ³⁰
Key Officials	Minister of External Affairs India – Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar ³¹ Ambassador – India to Sri Lanka – H.E. Mr. Taranjit Singh Sandhu ³² MEA IOR Div. Acting HOD/Director – Dr. Adarsh Swaika MEA lOR Div., DS – Dr. M. Sivaguru (as of Aug 6) ³³ Minister of External Affairs Sri Lanka – Mr. Tilak Marapana³⁴ Ambassador – Sri Lanka to India – Mr Austin Fernando ³⁵ MFA South Asia Division Head, Director General – Post is Vacant (as of Aug 6) ³⁶

Updated as on Aug 6 2019