NEW DELHI: India and Sri Lanka agreed on Friday to consider building a land link between them, they said during President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s first visit to the regional powerhouse, as Chinese influence grows on his island.

Establishing “land connectivity” across the Palk Strait, which in places is only around 25 kilometres wide, would give India access to the key ports of Trincomalee and Colombo and strengthen a “millennia-old relationship”, the neighbours said in a strategic document.

Feasibility studies on a land bridge and a petroleum pipeline will be carried out, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after their talks.

Wickremesinghe’s two-day visit came a year after he became president following the toppling of his predecessor during an unprecedented economic crisis.

As Sri Lanka saw daily street protests over shortages of food, fuel and medicines, India poured in nearly $4 billion in aid, despite Colombo defaulting on its $46 billion in foreign debt.

“Sri Lanka faced many challenges last year but like a close friend we stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Sri Lanka in the time of crisis,” Modi said.

In the discussions, New Delhi also raised concerns about the “Chinese presence” in Sri Lanka, said India’s foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2023