On the invitation of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mr. Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, visited Sri Lanka on May 23 - 25, 2007. During his visit Mr. Pawar called on President Rajapaksa and also held delegation level talks with Mr. Maithripala Srisena, Minister of Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services and Mr. Hemakumara Nanayakkara, Minister of Agriculture.

During the discussions with Mr. Maithripala Srisena it was highlighted that cooperation in the field of agriculture between India and Sri Lanka has worked well to the advantage of both countries. However, it was felt that there was tremendous scope to further expand cooperation in agriculture and related sectors.

It was agreed that India would assist in capacity building in Sri Lankan agriculture by enhancing the scope of training programmes, scholarships, research projects and exchange of visits of farmers. It was also agreed that there would be collaborative research and development programmes in the field of bio-technology, hybrid seed development, post-harvest processing, livestock improvement and agricultural policy research. Greater role for the private sector was also envisaged. The possibility of joint ventures and technical assistance in the field of seed development, agricultural machinery and agro-processing was also discussed.

There has been ongoing cooperation between India and Sri Lanka in the field of agriculture. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Indian Council for Agricultural Research and Sri Lankan Council for Agricultural Research and Policy in 1998. The MoA is operationalised through Annual Work Programmes. Currently, the Third Annual Work Programme is in progress for 2006-2007. It covers training programmes in fisheries, animal breeding, dairy, agro-processing, seeds, poultry and bio-technology etc. The work programme also includes 16 MSc and 21 PhD slot at Indian Agricultural Research Institutions. Both countries also exchange germ plasm, scientific literature and visits of consultants.

Mr. Pawar's visit was a fruitful visit during which both sides reiterated that agriculture will form an important segment of cooperation between India and Sri Lanka.