India is hosting Sri Lanka President Anura Kumar Dissanayake at a time when its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy has suffered immensely with bilateral relations with Bangladesh hitting rock bottom after the ouster of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee the country and take refuge in New Delhi, where from she is issuing statements attacking the present Dhaka dispensation.

Dissanayake, or the AKD, as he is fondly called in his country, will meet his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend an investors’ meeting before he signs several bilateral agreements.

The Sri Lanka President is most likely to hold discussions on financial assistance, Indian concerns for its defence and the devolution of powers to ethnic Tamil in the Singhalese-dominated country.

India Reaches Out To Dissanayake

After AK Dissanayake won the Presidential Election on September 23, S. Jayshankar became the first foreign dignitary to visit the country on October 4.

He extended India’s support and assured him of all kinds of support, including financial assistance for the island nation.

Dissanayake reciprocated the good gesture by assuring him that the soil of Sri Lanka would never be allowed to be used against India, a reference to Chinese presence at the Hambantota Port.

India Helps Sri Lanka

India assisted the island nation during its financial crisis of 2022 by providing it with a $4 billion loan, which was badly needed at that time.

New Delhi also offered further financial assistance, necessary to receive loan a from the International Monetary Fund under its Extended Fund Facility programme.

The international affairs experts believe, the two countries need to move forward on the solid foundation, they made during these tiring times.

Contentious Issues

Sri Lankan ruling coalition of the National People’s Power or the NPP has been against the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the country and Dissanayake himself has refused to implement it.

What Is 13th Amendment?

The 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act 42 of 1987 promise to establish provincial councils in areas with a Tamil majority.

It has provisions for enabling Sinhalese and Tamil as national languages while preserving English as the link language.

Besides, these acts also talk about giving the powers of police control and financial powers to the provinces.

After the India-Sri Lanka accord was signed by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene on July 29, 1987, it was decided that there would be a devolution of power to the ethnic Tamils.

Consequently, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution on November 14, 1987.

However, the amendment has been hanging fire since then with no devolution of powers.

The Dissanayake-led leftist outfit Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or the JVP and other constituents of the NPP have opposed the devolution of powers to Tamils to the extent that they made it an election plank in an attempt to whip up ultra-nationalist sentiments across the country.

Now the Dissanayake-led government argues that it should be accepted by all political parties, knowing it well that his own party would oppose it.

Chinese Ships At Sri Lankan Ports

India felt highly uncomfortable when a triple-masted Chinese ship with 130 crew, docked in Colombo in October 2024 as Colombo said that it was “a training vessel and not a research craft”.

Earlier in 2022, port calls from the Chinese Navy, which included the ship Yuan Wang 5, which specialises in spacecraft tracking, angered New Delhi, which described it as a spy ship, a claim rejected by both Sri Lanka and Beijing.

India was angry as it thought that the Chinese Navy ship was equipped with tracking systems that could snoop on Indian installations while on its way to Sri Lanka.

Hambantota Port

New Delhi is also not happy with the Chinese presence at strategically important Hambantota Port. As Colombo was overwhelmed with Chinese loans and not in a position to repay the same, Beijing forced it to cede the Hambantota Port, that is situated in the northern province of Sri Lanka only at a distance of a few nautical miles from Indian shore.

Chinese ‘String Of Pearls’

Indian experts believe, Sri Lanka and particularly Hambantota Port, is a part of the Chinese strategy to encircle India in the Indian Ocean under its String of Pearls scheme, which has been designed to checkmate the US and India, which is perceived as an ally of Washington.

Political analysts believe, no agreement will be signed to address this issue and Indian concern despite Colombo’s pious declaration that its soil would not be allowed to be used against Indian interests.

Sri Lanka Eyes Indian Investment

Though China has emerged as the largest investor in Sri Lanka with an investment of $3 billion till 2023, India came second with an investment of $2.2 billion, according to the Central Investment Board of the island nation, Colombo wants to attract more Indian investment.

As Chinese projects are expensive and they may become an economic burden and drain on the country’s economy, Colombo eyes entrepreneurs in India to put money in that country.

Dissanayake will attend a meeting of entrepreneurs, businessmen and finance experts in Delhi so that he can addrerss their concerns and offer incentives that may attract them.

Game Of Chinese Checkers

Though Maldives reached out to India with its President Mohmed Muizzu visiting New Delhi on October 6, and assuring it of addressing its security concerns regarding the Chinese presence in its vicinity, the significance of Sri Lanka has not diminished.

New Delhi must work in close cooperation with the island nation in an attempt to checkmate China and stop Beijing in the political game of Chinese Checkers.

India has a friendly government in Colombo despite its ultra-nationalist campaign for domestic consumption during elections, and New Delhi should use this situation to further strengthen its defence.

Indian diplomats and other MEA mandarins need to strike a deal with the island nation in the Indian Ocean particularly after the fiasco in Bangladesh.