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By Shastri Ramachandaran in New Delhi A recent visit to Sri Lanka by Indian Minister of External Affairs Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna is being hailed as a landmark because of the significant ground it has covered on multiple tracks. The high point on the last day of his four-day visit was Sunday's inauguration of an Indian consulate in the southern coastal city of Hambantota. Official sources said India is the first country to open a consulate in Hambantota, the hometown of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. "I am confident that India will take advantage of the industrial and commercial potential around Hambantota," Krishna said at the ceremony. Hambantota's strategic port, worth $1 billion, was built with Chinese assistance. On Saturday, Krishna inaugurated the Indian consulate in Jaffna town, in Sri Lanka's Northern Province, which is the minority Sri Lankan Tamil's political, cultural and commercial center. He said India would stay engaged with Sri Lanka to help revive livelihoods and rebuild the lives of those in the war-affected areas. Krishna is the first cabinet minister from India to visit Jaffna after Sri Lankan forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels in May 2009. He said Sri Lanka faced the challenge of having to resettle thousands of internally displaced persons. According to the Xinhua News Agency, before the opening of the two consulates, the Indian diplomatic presence in Sri Lanka had been limited to its embassy in Colombo and the deputy high commission in the central town of Kandy. India has committed to building 50,000 houses for war-displaced Tamils in the Northern and Eastern provinces and to assisting Sri Lanka with rehabilitation and reconstruction. Krishna described the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka as an "unparalleled opportunity" to resolve all outstanding issues for a "genuine national reconciliation." He hoped that the dialogue - to create conditions for a lasting political settlement - would start soon. On Friday, along with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris, Krishna presided over the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission's seventh meeting. He held wide-ranging talks with Rajapaksa and proposed a "structured dialogue mechanism" for resolution of the ethnic conflict. This is the first time India has openly favored such a mechanism. Rajapaksa also met with representatives of the Tamil Parties Forum soon after his meeting with Krishna and the session of the Joint Commission. According to media reports, the president's secretariat described it as a "landmark meeting" to discuss aspects of a "post-conflict reconciliation." Agencies contributed to this story |
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