The Second Meeting of the Sri Lanka - India Joint Working Group on Fisheries was held in Colombo on 31st January 2006. The discussions took place in a friendly and cordial atmosphere in keeping with the close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The discussions centered on possible ways and means of strengthening the measures being undertaken by the two countries to prevent inadvertent straying; securing the release of fishermen and boats in custody in Sri Lanka and India; mechanisms for dealing with incidents involving fishermen in the Palk Bay Region as well as bilateral cooperation in the fisheries sector.

During the discussions, the Indian side informed that action is being taken to secure the early release of 24 Sri Lankan fishermen held in custody in India. Currently, there are no Indian straying fishermen in Sri Lankan custody.

The two sides agreed that the fisheries resources of the two countries provided enormous potential for cooperation and discussed the possibilities of investment in the areas of deep-sea fishing, fisheries harbour development, laboratory testing, enhancing product value, training and resources survey.

The Indian delegation was led by Mr. Mohan Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and the Sri Lankan delegation was led by Ms. Geetha de Silva, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.