Bilateral relations have expanded manifold - Outgoing Indian High Commissioner By Manjula Fernando

Excerpts of an Interview with outgoing Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha.

Q: Time has come to bid farewell to Sri Lanka. What will you be taking back? Any regrets or work that you wished you had more time to complete?

A: I am leaving Sri Lanka after a tenure of three and a half years. I arrived here in November 2009, which was six months after end of the armed conflict. It was a historic juncture - for Sri Lanka as well as for India-Sri Lanka relations.

During this period I have seen impressive changes taking place in Sri Lanka. I have also seen relations between India and Sri Lanka developing in a comprehensive manner. I will be taking back with me very pleasant memories of my stay here. I am preparing to complete my assignment here with a sense of fulfillment that India - Sri Lanka relations, which have always been close and friendly, are today perhaps stronger than they were when I arrived.

I believe there is a very strong commitment from both sides to take this relationship forward. You talked about regrets. I will not say regrets but you know it's a process. When it comes to a job like mine, you work on the edifice which has been created by your predecessors, and you leave behind some tasks for your successor.

India and Sri Lanka are linked by our geography, our history, shared civilizational heritage, by common interests, by a shared commitment to advancing this relationship. There are a lot of positives that one inherited and my objective all along has been to build on those positives and not to let occasional differences come in the way of development of this relationship.

Q: What would you describe as your most satisfying job that was accomplished during your tenure?

A: It will be difficult for me to single out any one job that was satisfactorily completed. It has been a very eventful period in our bilateral relations. It was a period of extraordinary opportunities since the central preoccupation of Sri Lanka which had pulled it down for a long period, combating of terrorism which had gone on this country for nearly three decades, was coming to an end.

There were some problems relating to the aftermath of the war but there were so many opportunities available to develop our relationship, and we have sought to tap those opportunities. If I may cite some examples, we maintained a very close political dialogue. We were fortunate to have four visits of His Excellency the President to India. I accompanied him on all those visits.

We had several high level visits from India to Sri Lanka. These visits helped develop the agenda of partnership of our two countries. Our job was to implement that agenda which we have tried to do in a proactive manner.

The second area where I can derive a lot of satisfaction is how our trade and investment links have developed. Sri Lanka is India's largest trading partner in SAARC and India is Sri Lanka's largest trading partner globally. Last year, we crossed the milestone of bilateral trade turnover of US$ 5 billion. In last three years, we have seen Indian companies expanding their business presence in Sri Lanka, and we have encouraged them to get more engaged in Sri Lanka's growth story. In 2011 and 2012, Indian companies brought in investment worth US$ 300 million. If you look at the projects in the pipeline, the investment we hope to materialize during the next five years will be at least US $ 1.5 – 2 billion. This is really changing the whole landscape of economic engagement between the two countries. That is something which gives us a lot of satisfaction.

The third example relates to people to people links. We have multi-layered relations. While relations between two governments are important, in many ways people to people links are more important because they operate in so many different dimensions. We decided to jointly celebrate the 2600th Anniversary of the Enlightenment of Lord Buddha. As part of that, we did so many activities jointly but one event which really stood out was the exposition of the Sacred Kapilavastu Relics. That was in August- September last year.

These Relics came to Sri Lanka after a gap of 34 years, and we were overwhelmed by the popular response; at least 3 million devotees turned up to worship the Sacred Relics. There was such a powerful outpouring of affection and goodwill which really gave us a lot of confidence in the strength of our relations.

If I can give you another example. we tried to expand our developmental partnership.  As I mentioned, I came here immediately after the armed conflict, the Government was dealing with a lot of challenges pertaining to resettlement, reconstruction  and such activities; we have sought to assist in this process.

As a result, in the last three and half years, our developmental partnership in Sri Lanka has expanded manifold. We have completed at least three dozen projects ranging from large projects like the Southern railway rehabilitation, which was handed over last year in April, six months ahead of schedule, to projects like renovation of 79 schools in the Northern Province, reequipping hospitals, provision of bicycles, tractors, agricultural implements, family pack and shelter material, holding of limb refitment camps, demining, and so on. The housing project involving construction of 50,000 houses is making good progress. The pilot project was completed last year, and we expect that owner-beneficiaries will complete 10,000 houses under Phase-II with our assistance by October this year. The Northern Railway project will also be completed ahead of schedule by early next year. The Yala Devi Express will again start plying to Jaffna and Kankesanthurai, and rail connectivity to Talaimannar will also be restored, giving a big boost to economic development of the country.

We are happy that we have not only responded as per the preferences and priorities projected by the government and the people of Sri Lanka, but also that these projects have been delivered on time. My colleagues have worked overtime to ensure that we manage to complete the projects in a timely and satisfactory manner.

Education is another area that is very important. Both Sri Lanka and India are blessed with very rich human resources. More than anything else, the quality of our human resources will determine our future. One initiative taken in January last year was trebling of scholarships awarded to Sri Lankan students, for studying in India and in Sri Lanka. It is one of the largest initiatives of its kind taken by us outside India.

The expansion of the network of our Consulates here was another important development which made it possible to reach out to the people of Sri Lanka. We opened two new consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota in November 2010.

Q: Now that Sri Lanka is moving ahead as a middle income country from a conflict affected third world state, do you perceive any changes to Sri Lanka – India relations?

A: If you look at Sri Lanka's growth trajectory, it has been very impressive. In the post conflict period, the country has recorded a high growth rate. I strongly believe that Sri Lanka's manifest destiny is to re-emerge as a hub economy, given its strategic location, close to the fastest growing economies in the world and astride an important maritime route.

You have a number of inherent advantages. What we need to do is to fully tap synergies between our economies. We have already taken advantage of some ofthese, as we have contributed significantly to Sri Lanka's development as a hub economy.

Colombo Port is one of the most successful ports in our part of the world. It accounts for nearly one fourth of total container transshipments of India. In turn, cargo coming from or going to India accounts for 70% of the total business for Colombo Port.  Civil Aviation is another area. We have 120 flights between Colombo and eight destinations in India. This has helped develop Sri Lanka as an aviation hub.

To cement Sri Lanka’s position as aviation, maritime and manufacturing hub, we need to be more ambitious. We should not let apprehensions that are often imaginary and based on inadequate information come in the way of our pursuing a far more pro-active agenda. If we don't build on the synergies and connectivities that exist between us, there will be a price to pay in terms of missed opportunities. This is one area that I believe that we can do more.

In terms of tourism, Indians are traveling overseas in ever larger numbers. While nearly one- fifth of foreign tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka is from India, the number of tourists coming from India is a small fraction of the actual potential. If more than one million Indians can go to Singapore and Thailand every year, I don't see why the number of Indian tourists coming here should be less than 200,000, because Sri Lanka has so much to offer as a tourist destination. You are just next door. Greater two-way flow of tourists also reinforces friendly bonds.

Q: Will there be direct flights to new destinations in India?

A: Last year we liberalized our bilateral civil aviation regime and increased frequencies and offered new destinations. At present, our policy is that we should facilitate greater connectivity, more flights between Colombo and various destinations in India. The civil aviation business is market driven. We have opened the doors for our airlines to take advantage of the opportunities that are available; it is for them to do that.

In the last India – Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting, we agreed to explore the feasibility of over-land connectivity between India and Sri Lanka. The gap between Talaimannar and Rameswaram is just over 16 nautical miles. The University of Moratuwa has done good work looking into the feasibility of this.

Q: Will visa free travel between India and Sri Lanka be a reality ever?

A: Our policy has been to make it easier for Sri Lankan nationals to travel to India. We have put in place a very liberal visa regime, for all types of travelers. In fact almost in all cases, we issue visas on the next working day. Visas can be applied for online and we issue gratis visa to groups of pilgrims recommended by the Secretary, Ministry of Buddhasasana Affairs, or Secretary, Tourism.

Q: Will these arrangements continue after your departure?

A: These are institutional arrangements and are going to continue even after my departure. I don't expect any change there. Moving towards a visa free regime is also something that we can discuss. In fact we are progressively moving towards arranging visa on arrival with some countries. Recently, we have agreed to have a bilateral consular dialogue with Sri Lanka where we can discuss this idea. It is definitely within the realm of possibility.

How long it will take, that is for the two governments to discuss and work out suitable modalities. But that's an objective we need to move towards. Especially between two friendly countries like India and Sri Lanka, we should have very smooth movement of people, goods, ideas and investment. This is something we need to encourage.

Q: In a recent speech, you mentioned India was Sri Lanka's closest friend. But at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March this year when South Asian nations stood by Sri Lanka, India took a different stand. Your comments?

A: What you need to look at is the totality of relations India and Sri Lanka shares. At a function last evening, the External Affairs Minister, Prof. G.L.Peiris, said the friendship between India and Sri Lanka was indestructible. Dr.Sarath Amunugama described the two countries as inseparable friends.

These are descriptions we fully subscribe to. We have extremely close relations. There is no doubt that this relationship is growing in all areas – political dialogue, trade and investment, defence and security cooperation, educational exchanges and people to people contacts.

We see all-round progress and that gives us confidence. The big picture of our relationship is very positive. There are occasional differences. We may have different perspectives on some issues. At times these differences get manifested in different positions taken by usin international fora but what you have to remember is that   on most occasions, India has stood by Sri Lanka, not only in our bilateral engagement but also in international fora.

We have provided consistent support to Sri Lanka. We have tried to assist Sri Lanka in fulfilling its aspirations of development and economic growth, we have been partners. When the country was dealing with terrorism, India was with Sri Lanka.

Let's not look at one or two votes in isolation but as part of the larger pattern of relationship that we have sought to nurture, together.

Q: Is this going to be India's consistent stand when it comes to issues that pin on last stages of the conflict, will India continue to isolate Sri Lanka in situations like last March-Geneva?

A: When it comes to post war development in Sri Lanka we have always given credit for positive developments within this country, be it resettlement of idPs, rehabilitation of ex-combatants, or demining or reconstruction. A lot of good things have happened and we have been supportive, though a lot more remains to be done. We have tried to extend our assistance to the fullest extent possible.
There are some areas where we expect there will be faster progress. For instance, towards reconciliation. Here again what we are suggesting is the implementation of the LLRC recommendations with a sense of urgency. It will advance the process of reconciliation. We are suggesting progress towards a political settlement in a manner where all communities feel they are equal stake holders in the society.

Both India and Sri Lanka are multicultural, multi-lingual, diverse societies. It is important for us to develop in such a manner that the growth is inclusive. That's what we have been discussing with our Sri Lankan friends.

The vote in Geneva that you referred to earlier, it was not a vote against Sri Lanka. Our positions might have been in divergence on one particular issue, but India will never do anything which will hurt Sri Lanka's interests because we strongly believe that the fundamental interests of Sri Lanka and India are interlinked. There is no contradiction in these interests.

Q: There is a feeling or accusations by certain domestic elements that India is trying to dictate terms to Sri Lanka on a political settlement. Your comments?

A: I don’t agree with that. There is a natural interest in India about of what happens in Sri Lanka -- for instance, in the progress towards a political settlement. These are issues that we discuss with our Sri Lankan friends. The Government of Sri Lanka has talked about in the past about meaningful devolution, a political settlement or a political package based on a ‘13th amendment plus’ approach. These are assurances given by the Government of Sri Lanka and we are not asking for anything more than that. We always recognize that there are domestic processes where the people of Sri Lanka through an internal dialogue can arrive at a settlement which is acceptable to them.

India has never tried to dictate terms to Sri Lanka. That is not our approach.

Q: You have always said pilgrim travel between the two countries were precious and must be preserved. There were target attacks on Sri Lankan pilgrims in the recent past. What is the situation now?

A: There have been some isolated incidents where some Sri Lankans pilgrims were subjected to harassment and assault. We took immediate action in all cases, the perpetrators were detained and prosecuted. The Government of India and the State Government of Tamil Nadu immediately stepped up security. You would have noticed that there has been no recurrence.

Pilgrimage between our two countries has gone on for centuries, if not for millenia.  It’s a very important part of our relations. India is a large country and it is impossible to avoid isolated incidents. But we are committed to ensuring that Sri Lankan pilgrims and other visitors coming to India are assured of safety and security, and are able to enjoy the treasures of our shared heritage to the fullest extent.