External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will hold a high-level meeting with her Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samarweera in New Delhi today to sort out the fishermen issue. 

The meeting comes days after the fishermen associations of both the countries failed to reach a common ground to resolve the issue. 

Fishermen based in Sri Lankan north have been claiming that their livelihood is affected due to the bottom trawling practised by Indian fishermen and their poaching into Sri Lankan territory.

The fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are opposed to Sri Lankan Navy arresting them and seizing their boats. Though the fishermen are released on humanitarian grounds, their vessels are not returned by the Sri Lankan Government.

The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Saturday expressed hope that the ministerial level talks between India and Sri Lanka to be held later in the day will bring in positive results for the long standing issues pertaining to fishermen after talks between fishermen associations of the two countries failed to yield any results.

AIADMK leader C. R. Saraswathi told ANI, “We are hopeful that today’s meeting will bring in good results. Our Minister Jayakumar has also said very clearly that we have given a requisition that both the countries should walk together in this and we have also requested the Ceylon (Sri Lankan) Government to return the boats of our fishermen that have been its siege for a long time.”

“Our Chief Minister is taking a lot of care of fishermen in Tamil Nadu. Already we have held a meeting in Delhi, lot of meeting have been held and our CM has also written many letters to the President saying that fishermen’s problem should be solved for once and for all and not only for us but also the fishermen of Ceylon,” she added.

Earlier, the talks on Wednesday took place between a 15-member delegation of fishermen association from Tamil Nadu and 10-member delegation from northern Sri Lanka.

Source: ANI

-Agencies