Author: TELO Admin

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to Sri Lanka in April. The visit, according to Sri Lankan sources, is still firming up and could happen around 5th April, with focus on a range of issues, including connectivity and economic ties.

The invitation for this visit was extended by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his two-day trip to New Delhi in mid-December 2024. That was President Dissanayake’s first overseas visit after being elected in September 2024.

During the visit, the Indian government announced the conversion of $20 million in payments for seven completed Line of Credit projects into grants, easing Sri Lanka’s debt burden. The announcement builds on Delhi’s support to Colombo, worth $4 billion during the 2022 economic crisis the country faced.

Sri Lanka on Monday reiterated its rejection of evidence gathering mechanisms within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) saying it contradicts its founding principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity.

The Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka, noted that Sri Lanka has consistently spoken out against country specific resolutions that do not have the concurrence of the country concerned.

“We have reiterated our rejection of Resolutions 46/1, 51/1, and 57/1 and the external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka that has been set up using these divisive and intrusive resolutions,” she said.

She said that no sovereign state can accept the superimposition of an external mechanism that runs contrary to its Constitution and which pre-judges the commitment of its domestic legal processes.

Furthermore, she said that serious concerns have been raised by a number of countries on the budgetary implications of the external mechanism, particularly at a time the UN is undergoing severe budgetary constraints.

Arunatilaka said that the Government has prioritized economic growth which will take place in a manner that is inclusive, where all citizens have enhanced economic opportunities allowing the resultant benefits to be reaped fairly by all strata of society.

“The rule of law, transparency, accountability and reconciliation will prevail in order to ensure sustained economic growth and social well-being of the people,” the Ambassador said.

The Ambassador briefed the Council on the work of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), the Office for Reparations, and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR).

“We remain steadfast in our belief that national ownership with gradual reforms, is the only practical way forward to transformative change. We regret the continuing inconsistent application of human rights principles through the work of the Council. This has resulted in the erosion of trust in the human rights architecture making countries less likely to respect the noble purposes for which the Human Rights Council was created,” the Ambassador said.

The Local Government (LG) elections are likely to be held in the first week of May, Daily Mirror learns.

Speaking to Daily Mirror, the Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Ratnayake said a special meeting would be convened to discuss the date and reach a final decision within this week.

“The decision would be taken after considering all proposals put forward by respective political parties,” he stated.

“We take all suggestions into account. However, as an independent body, the relevant date will be announced in line with the Local Government Election Act,” the Election Chief stressed.

Opposition parties have requested a delay in calling for nominations until the budget debate concludes, while the government has pushed for an earlier announcement.

The National People’s Power (NPP) has been particularly vocal about expediting the process.

The LG election, originally scheduled for 2023, was postponed after nominations had already begun. Several political parties challenged this delay in court, arguing that using the same nomination lists for a 2025 election would be unfair.

The court later ruled that a fresh nomination process would require two-thirds majority approval in Parliament.

Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted that India has reached its “takeoff point” toward becoming an economic superpower. Speaking at the NXT 2025 Conclave in New Delhi, he predicted that by 2050, India would emerge as one of the three global superpowers, alongside the United States and China.

Reflecting on his six-decade association with India, Wickremesinghe emphasized the country’s economic trajectory, calling it the driving force that could propel South Asia into a new era of prosperity. “I have been coming to India since 1963. It’s now that you have to see it. India has reached the take-off point to become an economic superpower,” he stated.

According to Wickremesinghe, India’s GDP, currently at approximately $3.5 trillion, is expected to soar to $30 trillion by 2050. He highlighted that this extraordinary expansion would reshape the region’s economy, fostering supply chains, manufacturing clusters, and economic corridors benefiting nations such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Call to Redefine South Asia’s Identity

Wickremesinghe urged South Asia to reassess its identity, starting with rejecting externally imposed terminologies. “The terminology is not ours. It comes from the West. You do not come across this term in any of the South Asian languages, nor in any Indian language. It was in 1949 that the U.S. Security and Defense Establishment, through one of its subcommittees, decided to call our area South Asia. We simply adopted it,” he remarked.

Comparing the region’s integration progress with ASEAN, he pointed out that South Asia has lagged behind. “Unlike ASEAN, which built its own successful integration and became part of the Asia-Pacific, South Asia has made very slow progress. Our heads of government haven’t met since 2014. Yet, we are bound by strong commonalities—languages, culture, and civilizational ties,” he added.

Wickremesinghe envisioned an expanded “Greater South Asia” extending beyond SAARC’s current boundaries, incorporating the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Indian Peninsula, the Himalayas, Afghanistan, and the Indian Ocean islands. He also stressed the need for stronger economic ties linking the region with Southeast Asia, the Arabian Sea, and the Mediterranean.

India’s Economic Surge and Regional Trade Dynamics

Wickremesinghe predicted that South India alone would develop into a $6 trillion economy by 2050, naturally fostering economic corridors connecting Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Southeast Asia into an India-centric supply chain. He also pointed out that while China’s trade with ASEAN is expected to triple, India’s trade could grow nine-fold, potentially bringing ASEAN closer to India than China over time.

However, he warned against protectionist trade policies in the region, stating that “the vestiges of Nehruvian socialism” still persist in South Asia’s economic strategies.

Source: Pratidin Time

Nominations for the upcoming Local Government Elections will be accepted from March 17, 2025 to March 20, 2025, the Elections Commission announced.

The deadline for submissions is 12 noon on the final day.

The relevant gazette notification has already been sent for printing, according to Additional Election Commissioner M.M.S.K. Bandara Mapa.

However, the Commission did not announce the date for the elections, which originally were to be held in January 2023.

The polls were delayed after then President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared there were no funds to hold the elections after the country faced an unprecedented economic crisis in 2022.

The new government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake passed the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill on February 17 with an overwhelming majority to hold the delayed polls and allow the Election Commission to withdraw the previous election.