It has been said more than once that while other countries could be our friends, India has always been our brother. It is from India that Sri Lanka received its greatest gift in the form of Buddhism and indeed, religious and cultural links between the two countries go even beyond the time of the Buddha.
In more contemporary times, India has always come to our rescue whenever Sri Lanka faced a dire situation. This diplomatic relationship has stood the test of time, regardless of the Governments or parties in power in New Delhi and Colombo.
India was the first country to gift a consignment of Indian-made Covid-19 vaccines to Sri Lanka, which went a long way towards reducing the number of Covid cases in the country. Covid also led to an economic crisis around the world and Sri Lanka was no exception.
Again, India came to our rescue, extending more than US$ 4 billion in Credit Lines for the purchase of fuel and other essentials. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar have on more than one occasion said that India will never ever neglect or forget the needs of Sri Lanka.
Apart from emergency aid, India is a major investor in Sri Lanka and also a major provider of infrastructure facilities. India assisted in the reconstruction of the Northern Railway Line, which was destroyed during the years of the battle against terrorism.
Similarly, a recent initiative by Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena could spur a massive development drive in the local transport sector with Indian assistance.
During a recent visit to India, Minister Dr. Gunawardena held discussions with Indian Transport Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari on diverting a previously-pledged US$ 400 million Indian Credit Line for improving the public transport sector in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, these funds will be used to procure 20 locomotives for the Railways, lay a double track up to Veyangoda and purchase low-floor electric buses suitable for city running.
The latter is particularly important in the context of the current fuel crisis in Sri Lanka, which does not have sufficient foreign exchange for importing fuel on the scale it used to do so earlier.
Fuel imports cost a staggering US$ 6 billion a year and this is clearly not sustainable in the long-term, given that nearly all sources of our forex earnings have dried up in recent times. It is therefore important that we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels to the greatest possible extent. We will be able to achieve a substantial saving in terms of fuel if at least 500 electric buses can be imported, provided that they are charged via solar power (as done in Adelaide and some other cities) or DC Superchargers.
The Government should also encourage those entitled to import electric cars under the expatriate permit scheme to consider Indian-made electrics, as they would be more suitable for our conditions.
Minister Dr. Gunawardena should be commended for his efforts to seek international help to develop Sri Lanka’s infrastructure facilities. Other Ministers could emulate this example to get foreign aid for their subjects.
There is a school of thought that all funds, local or foreign, should be channeled to address the economic crisis at this juncture. However, this approach could lead to years of neglect of infrastructure facilities, which are very much a part of the overall development strategy.
In this context, where foreign assistance can be obtained or is already available, it is advisable to go ahead with developing infrastructure facilities. Moreover, some foreign funds are specifically targeted at development projects and cannot be used for purposes such as getting down fuel or essentials.
We hope that the two Transport Ministers as well as the High Commissioners in the two capitals – Milinda Moragoda (Sri Lanka’s envoy in New Delhi) and Gopal Baglay (India’s envoy in Colombo) will take the discussions forward until the above-mentioned projects receive the green light. This dynamic duo had been taking great strides in taking Indo-Lanka ties to new heights and it is no secret that the two diplomats also have a close working relationship that cements the ties further. President Ranil Wickremesinghe is also due to visit India in due course and this Credit Line will no doubt figure in his discussions with the Indian leaders.
The two Ministers have also discussed another very important sector - renewable energy. Some Indian companies have already pledged to invest in renewable energy projects in Sri Lanka. This is a step in the right direction and at some point, the two countries should also link the two national grids for two-way power sharing. This way, Sri Lanka could obtain electricity from India in an emergency and vice versa. This idea has already gained traction in the Indian power sector.
It is also vital to improve people-to-people contact between the two neighbouring nations. The Indo-Lanka ferry service, abandoned since the 1990s, is to be revived soon, according to media reports. This will be a cheaper transport option for both Indians and Sri Lankans who cannot afford higher airfares.
Sri Lankan Aviation authorities should invite more Indian airlines to use the Jaffna International Airport (JAF) and the Colombo International Airport at Ratmalana (RML) to ferry Indian tourists, who already make up the biggest segment of visitors to Sri Lanka.
The Mattala Airport could also be an attractive option for Indian tourists opting to visit Sri Lanka’s Deep South. There is no doubt that all these initiatives ranging from transport to energy will bring the two neighbours closer together.