Sri Lanka Has Special Place In India’s Foreign Policy

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka holds a special place in India’s foreign policy architecture, anchored in centuries-old civilisational links, shared geography, and a bond that continues to grow stronger with time.

This was underscored by Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, who described the relationship between the two neighbours as unbreakable, built not only on diplomatic engagement at the highest level but also on deep trust, goodwill, and friendship between the peoples of both nations

According to the High Commissioner, India–Sri Lanka relations have evolved into a global model for cooperative partnership between neighbouring countries, demonstrating how proximity and history can be transformed into collaboration and mutual progress.

He highlighted that this partnership has been given renewed direction through high-level state visits, including the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Sri Lanka in April 2025, followed by an earlier reciprocal visit by President Narendra Modi to India in December 2024. 

These engagements, he said, have together charted an ambitious and forward-looking roadmap for bilateral relations.

At the core of this roadmap are three key pillars of connectivity, physical, digital, and energy, jointly agreed upon as the foundation for deeper cooperation between the two countries.

Beyond infrastructure and technology, High Commissioner Jha emphasized that shared aspirations for development and a mutual commitment to security have now emerged as central goals shaping the partnership.

He noted that over the past year, both countries have worked strenuously and with purpose to translate these shared aspirations into concrete outcomes.

A major focus of current cooperation, he said, is digitisation, which is poised to play a transformative role in Sri Lanka’s development journey. Sri Lanka’s digitisation push, the High Commissioner explained, is now ready for take-off, driven by progress in the implementation of the country’s unique digital identity project.

Once fully implemented, this project will enable the rollout of the entire digital public infrastructure stack in Sri Lanka, opening new possibilities for governance, service delivery, and economic participation.

Supporting Sri Lanka’s ambition to move toward a cashless economy, India introduced its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system in Sri Lanka in 2024, enabling faster, safer, and more inclusive digital payments.

He reaffirmed that India remains committed to working closely with Sri Lanka, strengthening cooperation across multiple fronts while deepening a relationship.