Jaishankar wraps up Lanka visit, fishermen issue figures in talks

NEW DELHI:  External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a string of meetings with the political leadership of Sri Lanka and discussed issues concerning the two neighbours On the last day of his three-day visit, Jaishankar met Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and followed up on the leader’s discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his virtual summit.

“Thank Prime Minister @PresRajapaksa for his warm welcome this evening. Discussed further strengthening our close cooperation in so many areas, following up on the progress made since the Virtual Summit with PM @narendramodi,” Jaishankar tweeted.

In the backdrop of 36 Indian fishermen being arrested by Sri Lanka, Jaishankar also met the fisheries minister and followed up on the discussions held in the Joint Working Committee meeting on Fisheries on December 30. “A productive meeting with Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda. Reviewed our cooperation in fisheries after the recent Joint Working Group session,” he tweeted.

Jaishankar also met leaders of the Tamil community. On Wednesday, in a joint press conference with his Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena, he had urged Colombo to meet the aspirations of the Tamil community.