President Mahinda Rajapaksa  on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi  during which Modi  thanked the President for pardoning and sending back five Indian fishermen, who were sentenced to death for alleged drug trafficking.

During the meeting, which lasted for nearly 30 minutes, the two leaders discussed important bilateral and regional issues. This is the third meeting between the two leaders since  Modi took over as Prime Minister in May. Modi during his address also wished “good luck” to  Rajapaksa for the January polls in Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa attended  Modi’s swearing-in after which they held a bilateral meeting. Later, the two met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Asked if  Modi thanked him for the release of fishermen, Rajapaksa said that, “I said we must thank Modi for his foreign policy, it (release of fishermen) happened due to that”, The Hindu reported.
“The relationship between India and Sri Lanka is very good,” President Rajapaksa said.

Five Indian fishermen sentenced to death in Sri Lanka for alleged drug trafficking were released last week after President Rajapaksa pardoned them. The fishermen were apprehended in November 2011 and sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court on October 30 for alleged drug trafficking.

The Sri Lankan President commuted the death sentence after Prime Minister Modi had a telephonic conversation with him on the issue.The Sri Lankan leader also welcomed  Modi’s initiative to develop and launch a satellite dedicated to SAARC.