By Rahul Dixit
Amid the flurry of international engagements undertaken by Indian leadership and diplomats in the recent few weeks, the visit of Sri Lankan President Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe has come as a booster shot for New Delhi in context of the geopolitical pulls and pressures in the immediate neighbourhood. The Lankan President’s visit has concluded five key pacts between India and Lanka in crucial sectors including connectivity, maritime cooperation and economic relations. All the pacts are extremely important for India to enhance its presence in the island nation and build an effective strategy to counter the Chinese maneuvers in strategically-important ports.
The raft of initiatives announced by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Lankan President Mr. Wickremesinghe through a vision document reflect the sectors where New Delhi would like Colombo to reassess its earlier foreign and economic policies. The now-ousted regime in Lanka, led by the Rajapakse family, had formed its policies broadly under the heavy influence of China which ultimately brought doom for the country. During the resultant economic meltdown, India was the first and strongest responder in every form which has been duly acknowledged by Mr. Wickremesinghe in his statement in New Delhi. Like always, India’s help was of non-transactional nature which the Lankan leadership seems to have realised in the last couple of years as the nation witnessed a political change. It is seen in the vision document that aims to enhance bilateral relations in critical sectors with the help of India.
For India, this is the best time to realign its focus on the immediate neighbourhood even as it builds strong relations with the United States, Europe and other middle powers. Lanka has remained a complicated subject for the last decade or so when the Rajapakses were in power. The family’s heavy tilt towards China had opened up many sectors where Chinese companies had a free run. China is still pressing to renew its deals in the power and ports sector, in direct conflict with Indian businesses ,and posing a security threat to India. New Delhi has to leverage its present international position, economic heft, and the image of being a saviour to smaller economies to ward off the Chinese threat and forge deep strategic relations with Colombo.
India has wisely crafted the items to be included in the five agreements. A pact between NPCI International Payments Limited and Lanka Pay for acceptance of the UPI application in Sri Lanka will be beneficial to both the communities who share long historic and trade relations. It will also augment tourist inflow in the enchanting island nation from India thus helping Lanka to recover some ground as it heavily depends upon tourism for revenue generation. For India, it is a golden opportunity to leave its imprint on the Lankans and tap business opportunities with the local establishments. That can secure one key component in the bilateral relations and instill a sense of assurance against the Chinese efforts that always come with some financial traps.
Another key area covered in the agreements is the possibility of a land bridge to boost connectivity between the two neighbours. Road connectivity can go a long way in erasing another faultline -- the dignity of the Tamil community living in Lanka. It can be the biggest game-changer.
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