High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

A 10-member team of students of the Holy Family Convent, Jaffna visited India under the student exchange programme of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation. The team arrived in India on December 10, 2010 and concluded the tour on December 18, 2010. The student team was accompanied by the Principal of the school Sister Mary T Ladislaus and Mrs Y J Anna Maria Josephine, a teacher.

 In New Delhi the student team was hosted by St Francis de Sales Senior Secondary School, Janakpuri, New Delhi. In October this year, a team of students from St Francis de Sales Senior Secondary School visited Jaffna and the team was hosted by the Holy Family Convent, Jaffna. This is the first visit by a team of Jaffna students to New Delhi for decades and this visit was possible as normalcy has now returned to the North and East Sri Lanka.

 The Governments of India and Sri Lanka established the India-Sri Lanka Foundation in 1998 in order to promote greater understanding through enhancement of economic, scientific, educational, technical and cultural cooperation between the peoples of the two nations. The High Commissioners of the two countries act as Co-Chairpersons of the Foundation while the two governments have nominated two Directors each as the other members of the Board of Directors.

Sri Lanka Navy marked the 60th anniversary of its inception on 09th December 2010. It was in 09th December 1950, that the legislative enactment of the Navy, known as the ‘Navy Act’ was passed in the Parliament that eventually led to mark 09th December as the Navy Day. This year Golden Jubilee celebration takes high precedence with Navy Day being celebrated in company of friendly foreign navies.

To mark the occasion, the Naval Headquarters made an elaborative arrangement that includes a President’s Fleet Review with the participation of warships of Bangladesh, China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand & Sri Lanka. The celebrations attended by representatives of 21 countries that include six Chiefs of Navies.

Admiral Nirmal Verma, Chief of the Indian Naval Staff reached Colombo in the evening of 08th Dec 2010 to attend the ceremonies on the invitation of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe. This is yet another milestone of Indo-Sri Lanka Naval relations where two navies close cooperation is fostering on the mutual understanding, interests and respect. Indian Naval ship Mysore and tall ship Tharangani participated in the celebrations in Colombo alongside their regional counterparts. During the celebrations, Chief of Indian Naval Staff called on the Secretary Defence, Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa in company of the Sri Lankan Naval Chief & the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo.

The Indian Naval Chief’, Admiral Nirmal Verma’s participation at the ceremonies fulfilled the gracious presence of Chiefs of all three regional navies; Bangladesh, India, & Pakistan.  Further, during the celebrations participating naval chiefs attended several programmes that include an international symposium on Sustainable Support for Security and Safety at Sea (S5) in Colombo and Chief’s Conclave in Trincomalee. The Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Prof. GL Peiris inaugurated the symposium and the Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe headed the Chief’s conclave in Trincomalee.

Today, we in South Asia commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and I have the pleasure on this occasion to extend warm greetings and best wishes of the Government and people of Sri Lanka to the Governments and people of South Asia.

As I stated on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee Summit in Thimphu in April this year, our hallmark and indeed our strength, is our collective identity, promoted and strengthened by over two decades of regional cooperation within the SAARC framework. This identity has been, and remains to be, a crucial factor in forging closer links among our governments and more importantly, amongst our people. As SAARC commemorates its twenty-fifth year, we must all take pride in the efforts taken since 1985 to build our Association. We now stand on the threshold of our continued onward journey towards the next generation of cooperative efforts.

As we observe the twenty-fifth anniversary of SAARC, we must resolve to work diligently towards the noble goals that we have set for ourselves. We must take bold steps to address the challenges before us which include translating our decisions and agreements into action and finding ways and means of enabling freer movement of people, goods, services and ideas within South Asia to build a more prosperous region for the benefit of our people.

I reaffirm on this occasion, Sri Lanka’s firm and continued commitment to SAARC and its objectives.

Mahinda Rajapaksa
The President of Sri Lanka

November 26, 2010

The seventh session of the Sri Lanka-India Joint Commission was held on 26th November 2010 in Colombo. It was co-chaired by His Excellency, Shri S.M. Krishna, Minister of External Affairs of India and Hon'ble G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka. The agreed agenda of the meeting is at Annexure-1. The lists of the Indian and Sri Lankan delegations are, respectively, at Annexure-2 and Annexure-3.

2. The discussions at the Joint Commission were marked by friendship, mutual respect and understanding. The two Ministers agreed that the shared cultural and civilizational heritage of India and Sri Lanka, the extensive people-to-people interaction and their common strategic concerns and interests provided the foundation to build a vibrant and multi-faceted partnership. India-Sri Lanka relations have diversified with the passage of time, encompassing all areas of contemporary relevance, including trade, services and investment, development cooperation, science and technology, culture and education. Today, with the end of armed conflict in Sri Lanka, these relations are poised to develop further in an all-round manner.

3. The Joint Commission reviewed developments in bilateral relations since the visit to India in June 2010 of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and noted with satisfaction that the visit had laid a strong foundation for the future development of India-Sri Lanka relations. The Joint Statement issued during the visit embodies the vision of the two leaders for harnessing the enormous potential available for consolidating and strengthening the bilateral partnership. This can be achieved by building on shared values and principles of democracy and pluralism, leveraging common strategic concerns and interests, enhancing connectivity and economic engagement, and reinforcing institutional frameworks for a comprehensive partnership in all areas of bilateral endeavour. In this context, the two sides welcomed the opening of the Consulate General of India in Hambantota on 26 November and of the Consulate General of India in Jaffna on 27 November. The Ministers also reaffirmed the importance of the Joint Commission mechanism to monitor implementation of bilateral understandings.