The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi urged his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ranil Wickremesinghe to ensure "genuine reconciliation" on the island, where Tamils could live a “life of equality, justice, peace and dignity”, during bilateral talks on Tuesday morning as Mr Wickremesinghe commenced his three day visit to New Delhi.

“Sri Lanka has voted twice this year for change, reforms, reconciliation and progress. There can be no stronger statement of Sri Lanka’s democratic tradition. There can be no clearer sign of Sri Lanka’s march towards a peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous future,” he added.

Calling for better economic agreement, Mr Modi told Mr Wickremesinghe that
Indian businesses were keen to invest in Sri Lanka in infrastructure, transport and energy.

“We both want deeper economic engagement,” Mr Modi was quoted by Reuters as saying. 

Also speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Wickremesinghe said both countries aimed to have an economic cooperation agreement provisionally agreed by the end of this year.

“We are looking at a permanent agreement on cooperation on economic affairs — trade, investment and technology — which is essential for development,” he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Commenting on discussions on security, Mr Modi was quoted by The Indian Express as saying: "We recognise our closely aligned security interests and the need to remain sensitive to each other’s concerns. We both reaffirmed our commitment to deepen our defence and security cooperation."

The ongoing, contentious issue of attacks by the Sri Lankan navy against Tamil Nadu fishermen was also discussed.

“I conveyed to him that this should be seen as a humanitarian issue that affects livelihoods. I informed him of the steps we are taking to encourage Indian fishermen to take up deep sea fishing," Mr Modi said.

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