Indian officials held talks in Jaffna last week on the long-delayed development of Point Pedro harbour, pledging financial assistance for the project that has repeatedly failed to materialise in the Tamil homeland.
A delegation from India’s Central Coastal Engineering Institute, under New Delhi’s Ministry of Fisheries, met Northern Province Governor N. Vethanayagan on Monday at the Governor’s Secretariat. India’s Deputy Consul General Sai Murali also joined the meeting.
Vethanayagan welcomed the team and expressed “gratitude for the assistance to be extended by the Government of India,” recalling that during a visit to Mullaitivu in May, India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka had promised that Point Pedro harbour would be upgraded with Indian funding.
The Governor underlined the urgent need for development of the harbour, lamenting that earlier attempts backed by the Asian Development Bank during his time as Jaffna Government Agent had collapsed. “I hope such a situation would not recur,” he said, assuring Indian officials that the province would “extend its fullest cooperation” to see the project through.
The Indian team is set to conduct an on-site visit to the harbour before holding further discussions with Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister on Friday. The Assistant Director of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources confirmed that local community organisations would also be consulted.
Also present at the meeting were the Chief Secretary of the Northern Province, members of the Indian delegation, and Sri Lankan fisheries officials.
