Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday assured India that his country would not be allowed to be used for “any activity” that could pose a threat to India’s security, as he explained Colombo’s ties with China in a “comprehensive manner” to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and exchanged views with him on a wide range of issues, including post-pandemic revival of the economy.
Foreign Secretary Shringla called on President Rajapaksa before he wrapped up his four-day visit to the island nation to review the bilateral ties. The meeting took place a day after the president returned from the US after attending the annual UN General Assembly.
“Sri Lanka would not be allowed to be used for any activity that could pose a threat to India’s security,” Rajpaksa conveyed it to Shringla during the meeting, a presidential release said.
Rajapaksa explained the nature of Sri Lanka’s relationship “with China in a comprehensive manner and informed the Indian Foreign Secretary not to have any doubts about it,” it said.
Rajapaksa told Shringla that Indian investors are invited to invest in the island and Sri Lanka was keen to resolve the situation regarding the Trincomalee oil tanks in a manner that is beneficial to both countries, the release from the president’s office said.