New Delhi [India], October 17 : Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya on Friday said discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi included the longstanding fishermen's issue, describing it as "ongoing" and "sensitive" while stressing the need to protect livelihoods on both sides.
Speaking to ANI after her meeting with PM Modi, Amarasuriya said, "That is an ongoing issue and something that needs to be discussed. We need to protect the livelihoods of our fishermen as well, but we understand that that's a sensitive issue and we will continue to talk about it."
Amarasuriya said her meeting with the Indian Prime Minister was "very good" and covered several areas of mutual cooperation. "We discussed how we can continue to maintain the good relations that we have established. He asked me about my visit to India and what I have done, and we are going to meet again this evening. So it was a good conversation," she said.
Highlighting India's support for Sri Lanka's education sector, she added, "We already have many collaborations underway. There's been support from India for infrastructure development in education. However, we also discussed the possibility of forming more institutional collaborations. And he gave me quite a few ideas, Prime Minister Modi, about the education reforms that are going on here. We discussed our respective policies."
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was glad to welcome Amarasuriya, noting that their discussions spanned multiple sectors. In a post on X, he said, "Glad to welcome Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ms. Harini Amarasuriya. Our discussions covered a broad range of areas, including education, women's empowerment, innovation, development cooperation and welfare of our fishermen. As close neighbours, our cooperation holds immense importance for the prosperity of our two peoples as well as the shared region."
On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. In a post on X, he said, "Pleased to meet PM Harini Amarasuriya of Sri Lanka this morning in Delhi. Discussed India's continued support to Sri Lanka and strengthening our cooperation in education & capacity building."
During her maiden visit to India as Prime Minister, Amarasuriya said her objective was to "further increase and strengthen our (India-Sri Lanka) relationship." She also visited Hindu College in New Delhi, where she once studied, and interacted with students. "It is lovely to be back. It is lovely to see the current students. I become so hopeful when I see them," she told ANI.
In her address at the University of Delhi, she called for transforming political culture by eliminating corruption and nepotism while urging citizens not to turn away from politics. "Let's change what we don't like about politics -- the cultures of some political parties, the corruption, the nepotism, the distance from normal, ordinary citizens. Let's change that, but don't reject politics, because without politics, you won't be able to change the world, and that's what we have to do," Amarasuriya said.
She also lauded India's progress in digital governance, calling it "an excellent example" of how technology can make governments more accountable and transparent. "I think India has done that amazingly well. The digitalisation of governance systems is transforming the public sector," she added.