Neither talkativeness nor false heroism is useful in governance. So is populism, which stimulates all the biases of people. But, knowledge, intelligence, and vision are the most important factors in governance. A plan and the ability to implement the plan are also highly important. Diplomacy and experience are also required to gain recognition and the courage to face challenges in a context similar to Sri Lanka’s. Ranil Wickremesinghe did not have to think twice to take over the ruling power during the worst economic crisis in the history of Sri Lanka, when traditional politicians were afraid. President Wickremesinghe had all the essential foundations to rule the country.
When President Wickremesinghe came into power, the Opposition said that he had no ‘mandate’ or the people’s consent. But in times of crisis, especially in the most difficult times, not everything goes by the book. When nothing is going well, one who reins in the crisis achieves. That is where heroism is born. That’swhere the mandate comes in.
When it is one year after the advent of Ranil Wickremesinghe into the presidency, the country is not where it was in 2022. The President has managed to put the bankrupt country back on its feet. Moreover, he is working to turn Sri Lanka, which was a global example of the modern debt trap, mismanagement of debt, and the economic crisis of our time, into a global example of recovery.
Another argument the Opposition brought to prove that President Wickremesinghe had no mandate was that the Prime Minister of India had not invited him for his first official visit. However, through that, the Opposition proved that they did not even have the simplest understanding of diplomacy. What was there for President Wickremesinghe to do by a visit to India, at a time the country had no food for the people, no way to come out of the bankruptcy created by the debt, and in a background of severe social violence and the risk of protracted anarchy?
The irony of history is thatPresident Wickremesinghe managed to make a historic visit to India, when one year in his presidency was completed, confirming the immaturity of the Opposition. It has become the most effective official visit to India by a head of state in recent history and has attracted the attention of not only the region, but the entire world.
But there is another point to be read with it. This means that President Wickremesinghe’s official visit to India is the most challenging official visit made by a head of state in recent history. It was because India had to provide a positive response to the minorities who were seeking India’s support to recover from the ethnic crisis. There was nothing for this country to make a diplomatic bargain as a country that was in trouble. Travelling to India in such a background is extremely challenging. But President Wickremesinghe had a powerful weapon for that too. That is his vision, policy, and programme related to the ethnic problem in this country. Unlike othr rulers, he has no vague policy like solving the ethnic problem after the economic crisis or vice versa. Along with solving the economic crisis, measures were taken in the past year to solve the ethnic problem as well.
Did Sumanthiran hear?
In the last meeting with the Tamil political leaders in the North and East regarding solving the ethnic problem, the President made his position public directly before MP Sumanthiran. “I am determined to go all the way when implementing the 13th Amendment.” In recent history, no head of state in this country has expressed such courage regarding this problem. However, the economic crisis and the ethnic problem are two problems that must be solved quickly and without failure, no matter who comes to power. Therefore, it is certain that if there is a politician in the country who can go to India and talk without bending over backward, it is only President Ranil Wickremesinghe. It was further confirmed during the joint press conference held by the leaers of the two countries during President Wickremesinghe’s visit to India.
Respectable neighbour
Sometime ago, President Wickremesinghe proposed the need for a bridge connecting Sri Lanka to India. So is the need for a multifaceted energy route between Sri Lanka and India, including a fuel pipeline system. We remember that when President Wickremesinghe expressed these views, some made fun of them. But during the joint press conference held by the leaders of the two countries, it was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who suggested that a bridge should be built between Sri Lanka and India. The Indian Prime Minister also mentioned that a feasibility study for constructing a passenger bridge and an oil pipeline between Sri Lanka and India is underway. The Indian Prime Minister also said that Sri Lanka is always in an important position in Indian policies.
The most important point is that Prime Minister Modi said that Sri Lanka is very important in both India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ polcy and ‘Sagar’ vision and believes that the security interests and development of India and Sri Lanka are intertwined. Accordingly, it shows that the India–Sri Lanka partnership is mandatory in the face of the current global context and President Wickremesinghe has succeeded in foreseeing this requirement through his futuristic vision.
The President’s approach is to make the most of the development opportunities in the Indian Ocean Region, which is one of the world’s largest emerging economies. No country in the world today can travel alone. Every developed country in the world has made that progress through regional partnerships. There are many examples in this regard in Europe, the Middle East, and emerging Africa. Therefore, fulfilling the development expectations of Sri Lanka by developing Indo-Lanka relations in a way that benefits both nations safely is a need of the hour.
A comprehensive economic partnership vision between the two countries was announced as a joint statement wth Prime Minister Modi, on July 21, one year after the inauguration of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presidency. The basic premise of this was to prepare a programme aimed at achieving rapid growth, progress, and prosperity for both nations, as well as the region. This joint vision has announced a development process focusing on five areas, namely, maritime and air connectivity, power and energy relations, trade, economic and financial relations, and person-to-person relationships.
It can be further summarized as follows.
Maritime connectivity
Maritime connectivity includes collaboration for the development of port and logistics infrastructure in Colombo, Trincomalee, and Kankesanthurai to integrate regional logistics and shipping.
The start of passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam, India, and Kankesanthurai, Sri Lanka, and arrangements for early resumption of passenger ferry services between Rameswaram and Thalaimannaram, and other mutually agreed points are on the card.
Air connectivity
The resumption of flights between Jaffna and Chennai has improved the people-to-people links between the two countries. To further expand the service to Colombo as well as exploring connections between Chennai and Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and other destinations in Sri Lanka are also considered.
This includes encouraging and strengthening investment and cooperation in civil aviation, including infrastructure development at Palaly Airport to provide greater economic benefits to the people.
Energy and power relations
According to the conclusions of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the development of renewable energy, Sri Lanka will develop its renewable energy potentials, including wind and solar power significantly and it will enable the island nation to achieve the goal of generating 70 percent of the country’s energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2030.
High-capacity power grid interconnection between India and Sri Lanka will enable thebilateral power market between Sri Lanka and other countries in the region including BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal) countries. This move has the potential to not only reduce power costs in Sri Lanka, but also help create a valuable and reliable source of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka.
Another move is the implementation of the agreement reached on the Sampur Solar Power Project and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) infrastructure. Exploration of green hydrogen and green ammonia using innovative technologies is aimed at accelerating and increasing the generation of renewable energy in Sri Lanka’s energy sector.
The continued cooperation in the development of the oil tank farm in Trincomalee is a reflection of the efforts of the two countries to develop mutually beneficial cooperative projects in the area. The two nations have agreed to further develop Trincomalee as a national and regional hub of industry, energy, and economic activities.
India and Sri Lanka will collaborate i the construction of a multi-product petroleum pipeline from southern India to Sri Lanka to ensure affordable and reliable energy sources for Sri Lanka.
Joint exploration for hydrocarbon production in Sri Lanka’s offshore basins to develop Sri Lanka’s growing petroleum sector has also been mutually agreed on.
Trade, economic and financial relations
The Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis in Sri Lanka underscored the importance of bilateral trade and economic activities and the two nations agreed to further facilitate mutual investment by promoting policy coherence, ease of doing business, and fair treatment of each other’s investors.
Facilitating investments from India in Sri Lanka’s government-owned enterprises and manufacturing/economic zones in various sectors of Sri Lanka.
Negotiating the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement to comprehensively enhance bilateral trade and investment in new and priority areas is also highlighted.
The decision to designate the Indin Rupee (INR) as the currency for trade settlement between the two countries has resulted in stronger and mutually beneficial commercial relations, and India and Sri Lanka have agreed to implement digital payments based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to further enhance trade and transactions between businesses and the general public.
Rapid digitization is an important element for the transformation taking place in both economic development and governance in India. It was agreed to utilize India’s digital public infrastructure as per priorities for Sri Lanka’s needs and effective and efficient delivery of citizen-centric services to the people.
Person-to-person relationship
Awareness and promotion of the Dambadiva Pilgrimage and Ramayana Trail as well as ancient Buddhist, Hindu, and other religious shrines in Sri Lanka are agreed on to improve tourism.
The two nations have agreed for exploring cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries, including the stablishment of new higher education and skilled campuses in Sri Lanka according to the needs and priorities of the island nation.
Plans are afoot to expand solidarity between research and academic institutions in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture, information technology, business, finance and management, health and medicine, earth and marine sciences, oceanography, and space applications, as well as in areas of mutual interest such as history, culture, languages, literature, religious studies, and other humanities.
The development of land access routes from India to Trincomalee and Colombo Ports by establishing a land link between Sri Lanka and India will contribute to the economic growth and prosperity of both Sri Lanka and India, which have thousands of years’ old relations. A feasibility study for establishing such a land link will be conducted soon.
Ranil’s mandate
Accordingly, President Wickremesinghe is trying to expand this small island state without limiting it to itsphysical size, building Sri Lanka as a partner state in a developed and powerful regional group of states based on promoting South Asian regional connectivity including India and catalyzing prosperity (Promoting Connectivity – Catalyzing Prosperity).
In fact, there is not only an economic victory for the country written in this, but also a strategic approach that makes Sri Lanka a powerful country economically as well as politically. More importantly, President Wickremesinghe’s strategic plan at this point is so advanced that it can proceed with India’s approach without any conflict. President Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Modi have taken a mutually-agreed advanced diplomatic approach to go a long way for both countries as well as for the region. In relation to that, the credibility of Sri Lanka has been established by President Wickremesinghe’s rule during the last year’s administration. This is how President Wickremesinghe has managed to backdate the Indian mandate, a factor theOpposition Leader highlighted.
When the Opposition Leader in Sri Lanka is distributing bats and balls, driving buses, and giving pompous talks at junctions, President Wickremesinghe is taking advantage of every opportunity on the global stage, whether it is climate change, carbon emissions, carbon credit or turning the Indian Ocean Region into a peace zone. He has highlighted the independent existence of Asian politics before the world leaders and the foundation is laid connecting this island to the world. That is how giant bridges have been built. The official visit to India is just one illustration of that. The hypocritical Opposition, which cannot wait for these things, may again falsely lament about an Indian intervention tomorrow and go crazy crying to save the country. People will be forced to take to the streets. Then the Opposition will see the extent of the mandate of President Wickremesinghe who said no.
