India has expressed hopes for the early conclusion of the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), which seeks to add to the existing free trade agreement with Sri Lanka, to pave the way to boost the island’s export potential.

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Mr. Santosh Jha, addressing an event held in Colombo, said: “We hope to enhance our economic partnership and enhance Sri Lanka’s export potential through early conclusion of the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement, just as the FTA opened new export opportunities for Sri Lanka to India, which now stands at more than 1 billion dollars.”

The remarks came during an evening reception hosted by Mr. Jha at India House in Colombo on the occasion of 75th Republic Day of India on Friday (Jan.26).

He said India’s Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) policy is at the heart of its approach towards Sri Lanka. “The India-Sri Lanka partnership has been built on civilizational ties, geographical proximity, cultural connect, strong sense of solidarity and age-old goodwill.”

Recalling the measures taken by the two nations to build a stronger economic partnership with connectivity as the central theme, Mr. Jha said since July 2023, India and Sri Lanka have launched daily flights between Jaffna and Chennai, as well as a ferry service.

Commenting on advancing multiple energy initiatives, the Indian high commissioner said the two nations are now working on power grid connectivity to enable Sri Lanka to export power to India, the multi-product petroleum pipeline to develop Trincomalee as an economic hub and the virtual LNG pipeline from Kochi to Colombo to bring to electricity costs in Sri Lanka.

“There are other clean energy projects in the private sector as well as the one by the NTPC in Sampur.”

Mr. Jha went on to emphasize that India is also Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner, adding that in 2022, bilateral trade stood at USD 6 billion. He said in recent years, India has also been the largest foreign investor in Sri Lanka and that it continues to be the largest source of foreign tourists in Sri Lanka.

Speaking further, Mr. Jha said: “Till date, we have contributed over 5 billion US dollars towards our development partnership, which has touched every single district of Sri Lanka. We are working on projects for solar electrification of religious places across Sri Lanka, assisting in modernization of Sri Lanka railways, constructing houses for the poor, enhancing Sri Lanka’s health and education infrastructure, and engaging in ports and airports development.

“We are working on the Sri Lanka-Unique Digital Identity project and seeking to soon roll out UPI in Sri Lanka. In all of this, India’s priorities are determined by Sri Lanka’s needs and aspirations and that too principally of its citizens.

“India and Sri Lanka are natural partners - we are, if I may say, irreplaceable, indispensable, and inseparable as partners. Our interests in matters of security or development are intertwined and interlinked. The huge potential our partnership holds and the tangible impact it can have on the lives of the common people drives me to work harder to further deepen and strengthen it. I look forward to your support and cooperation in this regard.”