“Sri Lanka & India Ties: A Civilisational Bond”
Global Innovation & Leadership Summit
Organised by Z Media & WION

Distinguished guests, leaders of industry, friends from the media, and all those who have gathered here today in the beautiful city of Colombo,

Ayubowan. Vanakkam. Namaskar.

Three greetings. Three languages. Three traditions. And yet, at their heart, they all mean essentially the same thing: a mark of respect for the other and a wish for long life and well-being. That, in a small way, captures the essence of what I want to speak about today. The civilizational bond that binds India and Sri Lanka is rooted in our languages, food, values, and aspirations. 

The relationship between India and Sri Lanka did not begin with a treaty, trade agreement, or a diplomatic communiqué. It began long before any of those things existed. It was natural two-way current between two proximate geographies; between two people who co-existed and cross-influenced each other to build a rich historical tradition that we both share in many respects and are rightfully proud of today. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

I am grateful to Z Media and WION for this opportunity speak at this Summit. And I must say, a Global Innovation & Leadership Summit in Colombo, with this wonderful gathering of business leaders, political thinkers, and media voices from both our countries, is exactly the kind of forum our relationship deserves. Let us have more of these, please!

As the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, I have the honour and the challenging task of providing a perspective on a relationship that is both ancient and modern, where there is an infinite past and an everlasting future. 

This is not simply a bilateral relationship. It is a civilisational bond. We are both inheritors of a shared past; as Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi referred to during his April 2025 visit, we are “civilisational twins”.

The Ramayana is not just an Indian epic. It lives in Sri Lanka too — in temples, in stories, in the faith of millions of Indians and Sri Lankans. The Pali Canon, the bedrock of Theravada Buddhism, travelled from the India to this island and found one of its most faithful home here. The ancient city of Anuradhapura was built with vision and craft that drew from traditions shared across the region. Examples of this shared past abound between India and Sri Lanka.

These are not coincidences of geography. These are the signatures of a shared civilisation. And shared civilisations produce shared values and instincts. There is a certain ease with each other, that this brings, that is very hard to manufacture or quantify. It is this depth that provides stability and anchorage to our relationship 

Friends, 

Let me now turn to the world we find ourselves in today. Because the context matters.

We are living through an extraordinary period of global turbulence. Supply chains, markets, and everything else available, as a leverage, are being weaponised, as never before. Geopolitical competition is reshaping trade, alliances and partnerships. Trust in global order is eroding; Utility of global institutions are in question. Wars and conflicts are proliferating; even if these wars are regional, nobody seems immune from its impact. Economic uncertainty in some form or another has become almost a permanent condition. And we are all struggling in different degrees to adapt, as nations. 

In these circumstances, relationships built on shallow transactional foundations are the first to crack. They are the ones where a change of government, a shift in commodity prices, or a geopolitical tremor is enough to undo years of effort.

Civilisational bonds are different. They are not dependent on who happens to be in office in any given year. They are not contingent on a favourable deal or a transaction. They are sustained by something far deeper and more durable: a shared sense of who we are and where we come from, and what we seek to build for ourselves.

When the world is uncertain, you turn to those you trust. And trust, real trust, is built over centuries, not decades. India and Sri Lanka have that in plenty. But we must not take it for granted. In fact, we should nurture it, build on it and use it to our mutual advantage. 

India, under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has pursued a vision of Neighbourhood first and Mahasagar as a central tenet of our approach towards Sri Lanka. A partnership rooted in shared aspirations for growth and prosperity not one based on fear, coercion or primacy of one over the other. 

At the cornerstone of this vision lies our economic partnership, which is central to our shared aspirations. Much of it, in my view, is a story that is still being written. 

India today is Sri Lanka's largest trading partner. India is the top source of tourists visiting Sri Lanka — a fact that endures despite challenges of a natural calamity like Ditwah or a conflict in West Asia. India is also among the largest sources of foreign direct investment into this country – last year Indian investments in Sri Lanka, including those directed from third countries, exceeded 50% of the total. Indian companies have invested in telecommunications, energy, digitization, financial services, and transport and infrastructure. 

The India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement has been in place since 2000. That is twenty-five years. It was the first FTA for both of us. And it is widely acknowledged that the FTA has delivered on its promise of benefiting Sri Lanka more. More than 65% of Sri Lankan exports use FTA benefits whereas only 5% of Indian exports use the same. For more than a decade, Sri Lanka has enjoyed a trade surplus with India, if we calculate only the FTA enabled trade. The trajectory of Sri Lankan exports to India is growing steadily. India is now the second largest export market for Sri Lanka, demonstrating how an FTA can enable an economy of 22 million people to effectively leverage an economy of 1.4 billion people!

And yet, by common acknowledgement from both sides, there is much more to be done; most of all an upgrade to our FTA into a modern framework that delivers the full potential of our bilateral economic partnership. We have spent too long talking about it; sometimes renaming it; but not actually moving with purpose and required political will to forge a new framework. I say this not to assign blame — but to note that every year of delay is a year of opportunity lost. Think of it, in the last 6 years, India has signed 9 FTAs covering trade with 38 countries! 

Sri Lanka's recovery from the 2022 economic crisis has been remarkable — I say this with genuine admiration. The resilience of this country, the determination of its people, has been extraordinary to witness. India was proud to stand with Sri Lanka through that period — with credit lines, with fuel, food, and medicine, with the kind of unconditional support that neighbours provide in a crisis. We have always stood by Sri Lanka in times of crisis, more recently during Ditwah and the current West Asia conflict leading to energy crunch. But the best thing India can do for Sri Lanka would be to help build resilience that does not require periodic assistance to be rendered in emergencies. This can be done if we work jointly to build a partnership for prosperity. This entails: Trade, Investment, Jobs and Value chains and much more.

That is the ambition of our partnership and a vision of our leaders. And I believe it is within reach.

Ladies and gentlemen, 

If there is one theme that I want to leave you with today, it is that India and Sri Lanka must be bold, must be brave, and must seize the moment. And it is not only in matters of Trade but a much larger agenda of connectivity.

Let me be direct. The distance between Colombo and Chennai by sea is roughly 300 kilometres. But the distance between Rameswaram and Talaimannar — the closest points of our two countries — is about 30 kilometres. Thirty kilometres. And yet, there is no direct road. No railway. No ferry service that runs at scale. No energy grid connection. No pipeline. It is, frankly, an anomaly. It is as if two neighbouring rooms are connected only through a corridor outside, even when there is a door that can be built between the two rooms, right in the shared wall of the two rooms.

We need to open that door.

Land connectivity via a bridge or tunnel across the Palk Strait has been discussed for decades. There are enough examples of such corridors across the world. The engineering is well understood. The economics are compelling. The benefits, wherever such bridges have been built, are unmistakable. But we continue to waver. But let me say clearly: the time for wavering is over. A fixed link between India and Sri Lanka would transform the economic geography of this entire region. It would make Sri Lanka a hub, it aspires to become, in a way that no port expansion or airport upgrade can achieve on its own.

Energy connectivity is equally transformative. India has made massive strides in renewable energy across solar, wind, nuclear and green hydrogen. Sri Lanka has its own targets. A submarine electricity interconnection between the two countries would give Sri Lanka access to affordable and clean power. It will also create a market for Sri Lanka’s energy exports and help realise its vast potential. In a power-hungry age of data centres, India’s demand for renewable energy will only increase; and Sri Lanka needs to fully understand that opportunity to forge ahead. 

Beyond electricity, serious conversations must also take place about long-term energy supply arrangements, including the petroleum pipeline and the development of tank farms in a meaningful, sustainable way. It can provide Sri Lanka with price stability and energy security. Something that we know today after the West Asia crisis is at premium. These are not fantasies. They are projects that have been studied, scoped, and in some cases are ready for decision. India already has implemented similar projects with its other neighbours – Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh – who are benefitting not just by exporting their surplus power to Indian markets but also by enjoying a level of energy security, which would not have been possible otherwise in the current difficult global situation.

And then, of course, there is digital connectivity, perhaps the most exciting frontier of all! India is rightfully a global leader in this area today. But, UPI, Aadhaar, Gati Shakti, the health stack, the agriculture stack, AI advancements, and startups need not be just Indian achievements. They are platforms that can be adapted, shared and built upon. These can provide a rapid pathway for Sri Lanka's to realise its own aspirations for a digital transformation. The opportunity to collaborate, to share platforms, to build joint capabilities, to create a seamless digital corridor between our two economies is right in front of us. What we need is the institutional commitment and focus to pursue it with purpose and energy.

Friends, 

India's engagement with Sri Lanka goes beyond – most of all it is about our people. About communities. About the kind of development that changes lives on the ground. Our 450 million USD support for post-Ditwah reconstruction was for the people of Sri Lanka, first and foremost. In normal times, too, our approach has been people-centric. We have built houses all around the Island. The Indian Housing Project has provided dignified homes to about 55000 families. We have assisted with railway lines, bridges, schools and hospitals. We have offered scholarships, training, and capacity-building. Cultural programmes, people-to-people exchanges, and tourism flows are the threads that stitch together our vibrant living relationship.

Our Development Partnership is an investment in stability and shared prosperity. A Sri Lanka that is economically strong, socially cohesive, and regionally connected is unambiguously in India's interest. And a Sri Lanka that sees India as a partner in its development rather than simply a larger neighbour will be better positioned to realise its ambitions. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I said earlier, time has come to act; to seize the opportunities in front of us. 

First, let us update and expand our FTA - not over an extended horizon of time, but now. The economic logic is overwhelming. 

Second, let us commit to connect! Whether it is a land bridge, an underground grid connection, an oil pipeline, or digital linkages; each of these has been studied ad nauseum. The benefits are obvious; economic logic unquestionable; only thing we need is a strong conviction and a relentless pursuit of these objectives.

To the business community: I would urge you to look across the Palk Strait with fresh eyes. The Sri Lankan market is recovering and growing. Indian companies have enormous capabilities in IT, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, finance, logistics etc. Sri Lankan companies have talent, entrepreneurial spirit, and a location second to none. The joint venture you have not yet formed, the market you have not yet entered, the supply chain you have not yet connected- those are the opportunities sitting on the table.

To the policymakers: do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Imperfect agreements signed today are worth more than perfect agreements delivered much later or never.

And to the media: you have enormous power to shape how our people see each other. Use them wisely to inform people of our natural convergences; but also, to question false premises; to interrogate mindsets that inhibit us to act now; and deny us the benefits that we can achieve today in our mutual interest. 

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a phrase I have heard often in Colombo: 'Sri Lanka is a small island country'. Instead, I think Sri Lanka is a country with a long history, immense potential and an even bigger future. That future is most bright, most confident, most prosperous, most resilient, especially when it is pursued in a genuine partnership with India. This is not a partnership of big and small; there is no big brother here but two civilisational twins; it is a partnership between equals – sharing a civilisation, a neighbourhood and a set of interests and aspirations that are more convergent - more than we can imagine having with any of our other partners – proximate or in far geographies.

The world is changing fast. The window of opportunity does not stay open forever. 

India and Sri Lanka have everything they need to build something extraordinary together. 

All we need now is to start building. I welcome you all to contribute to this endeavour. I wish the Summit and its participants all the very best.

Thank you!

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