India continues longstanding interest in operations at Colombo Port

COLOMBO (News1st): India has reiterated its longstanding interest in participation in the operations of the Colombo Port, even after Sri Lanka unilaterally cancelled the MOC for the development of the Colombo Port. Indian Media quoted the spokesperson to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava saying, India's interest in participation in the Colombo port "is a long-standing one since most goods handled there are from and to India". According to the report the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said, "We had in principle agreement from the Sri Lankan Government in this regard. The current government has, however, expressed a preference in engaging investors directly. I understand discussions are still underway." India and Sri Lanka signed a memorandum of understanding for "co-operation on economic projects" in 2019. The development and operation of the container terminal were one of the projects in the MoU and it was a joint venture.