External affairs minister Salman Khurshid is expected to once again emphasise to the Sri Lankan leadership the need to devolve powers to the Tamil provinces under the 13th amendment. During the minister’s bilateral visit to Lanka, the two sides are expected to ink a pact for the construction of a 500 MW thermal power project at Sampur in Trincomalee at a cost of '4,000 crore.
External affairs minister Salman Khurshid is expected to once again emphasise to the Sri Lankan leadership the need to devolve powers to the Tamil provinces under the 13th amendment. During the minister’s bilateral visit to Lanka, the two sides are expected to ink a pact for the construction of a 500 MW thermal power project at Sampur in Trincomalee at a cost of '4,000 crore. The minister will be meeting his Sri Lankan counterpart, G.L.Peiris, besides calling on Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. He will also be visiting Jaffna where he is expected to meet the C.V.Wigneswaran who has been elected chief minister of the northern province and its governor, Major General (retd) G.A. Chandrasiri. The reiteration of the need to implement the 13 amendment will be done during Mr Khurshid’s two-day visit to the island nation beginning on Monday. It is also an important visit given that it’s his first one to Sri Lanka since he became external affairs minister. The meeting with President Rajapakse is important in that India will be hoping to gauge the Lankan government’s current position on the 13th amendment. New Delhi has been concerned about the Lankan government’s moves to dilute the 13th amendment and has repeatedly asked it not to do so. Mr Khurshid is also expected to stress on the need to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Comm-ission. Indeed, the participation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the forthcoming Common-wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) being hosted by Sri Lanka may well be determined by the Rajapaksa government’s stand on the 13th amendment. Mr Khurshid’s trip to Sri Lanka comes close on the heels of the provincial elections in the Tamil-dominated northern province. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won these polls held in September. India is also expected to raise the issue of the arrest of Indian fishermen by the Lankan forces during the bilateral meetings. According to official sources, the number of Indian fishermen arrested till now in 2013 exceeds the annual numbers of 2012. In Jaffna, Mr Khurshid will review the ongoing development projects being undertaken there with Indian assistance.
