A delegation led by the General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva has held discussions with Chief Minister of India”s Gujarat Bhupendra Patel today, focusing on strengthening India-Sri Lanka relations and exploring avenues for sector-specific cooperation.
Welcoming the delegation in Chief Minister Gandhinagar, Patel has said that under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, relations between India and Sri Lanka had become more robust.
“India and Sri Lanka share deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, and this meeting will be fruitful in giving further momentum to these long-standing relations,” the Chief Minister has said. Highlighting Gujarat”s governance model, Patel had described the state as a policy-driven one and stated Sri Lanka could benefit from Gujarat”s sectoral policies in areas of mutual interest. “Through mutual coordination, Sri Lanka can take advantage of Gujarat”s policy frameworks in sectors it is keen to partner in,” he has said.
The discussions also touched upon tourism cooperation, including measures to encourage more visitors from Gujarat to travel to Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, JVP General Secretary Silva has said his visit to Gujarat and India was his first and expressed appreciation for the state”s progress.
Referring to India as the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Modi, he has stated that he was “emotionally moved” by the visit and impressed by Gujarat”s development trajectory.
The JVP General Secretary thanked the Central and State governments for providing the sacred relics of Lord Buddha for an exposition in Colombo.
He also acknowledged India”s support to Sri Lanka during times of need. “India has always stood by Sri Lanka, including through assistance in infrastructure development when the country required support,” Silva added.
He expressed interest in strengthening industrial cooperation between Gujarat and Sri Lanka and referred to his visit to Amul as an example of a successful cooperative enterprise. Silva said Sri Lanka was keen to learn from Gujarat”s expertise through “knowledge sharing and know-how” across sectors, including the cooperative sector.
