NEW DELHI: After a period of many lows, India’s foreign secretary Harsh Shringla was in Sri Lanka to put relations back on track. A deal has been signed on the development of the west container terminal of Colombo Port by the Adani group. India is also expected to pitch in humanitarian aid and other assistance to help overcome a financial and economic crisis.
But will this help overcome or reduce China’s influence and profile on the island? That would be India’s hope. In this conversation with Ambassador Mohan Kumar, who was deputy high commissioner in Colombo and also served as joint secretary handling Sri Lanka at the MEA headquarters, we take a look at what the challenges are and how these could be dealt with.
Ambassador Kumar attempts to answer other questions, including whether the Rajapaksa brothers are anti-India? Has China been favoured if Colombo’s intention was to balance off India? How has this worked?
Tune in to this conversation with Ambassador Mohan Kumar.
