Modi raises fishermen issue with Sirisena

The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday raised the ongoing arrests of fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy with the country's president, Maithripala Sirisena, who is currently in New Delhi for talks.

Mr Modi stressed the need "to develop a mechanism and find a permanent solution to the issue of fishermen straying into each other waters."

Despite a number of previous discussions between figures from both countries the arrests and impounding of fishing boats have continued.

The idea of establishing a "common economic zone" was also reportedly discussed.

According the Sri Lankan president's news site, Mr Modi "assured to give every support to Sri Lanka to make the reconciliation programme successful."

“The amity between India and Sri Lanka is special. With @narendramodi it continues to improve," Mr Sirisena tweeted.

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