New Delhi [India], September 23 (ANI): The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, on Tuesday adopted its draft report on ‘India-Sri Lanka Relations and the Way Ahead’ after a detailed discussion, Tharoor said.
Speaking to the media after the committee meeting, Tharoor said the discussion on the report before lunch lasted more than two hours and described it as a detailed report on India-Sri Lanka relations.
“The one before lunch took more than 2 hours was a very detailed report on India-Sri Lanka relations. Because these are very important issues. We are coming up with a very detailed and substantive report,” Tharoor said.
“The discussions took longer but there is a full Agreement and that report has now been adopted,” he added.
In a post on X, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that the Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Tharoor, held a sitting on Tuesday with three items on its agenda.
Today, the Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Dr. @ShashiTharoor, MP, held a sitting. The Agenda was
1.Consideration and adoption of the draft Report on the subject ‘India-Sri Lanka Relations and the Way Ahead’.
2.Consideration and adoption of the draft Report on the… pic.twitter.com/2RbQ2gzdsK
The first was consideration and adoption of the draft report on ‘India-Sri Lanka Relations and the Way Ahead’. The other two agenda items were the draft report on ‘India’s Role in Global Tech diplomacy, Digital governance, Outer Space diplomacy, AI and emerging innovations’ and the draft report on action taken by the government on observations and recommendations contained in the Twelfth Report on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of External Affairs for 2026-27.
The Standing Committee on External Affairs is one of the 17 Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) constituted to examine matters pertaining to the Ministry of External Affairs and the institutions and organisations falling under its purview.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee report comes at a time as earlier from September 8 to 10, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid a visit to Colombo. On September 9, the minister, during his visit to Colombo, reaffirmed India’s commitment to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Sri Lanka in difficult times, describing the bilateral relationship as one of “hearts and souls” and highlighting New Delhi’s role as the island nation’s first responder.
Addressing Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his visit to Sri Lanka, Singh said India and Sri Lanka are “civilisational twins”, sharing centuries of history, culture and heritage, and described Sri Lanka as one of India’s “closest friends and valuable partners”.
“India has always been the first responder during difficult times, and I assure you that we will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Sri Lankan friends. We strongly believe that real friends stand by each other through thick and thin. Our relationship is of hearts and souls,” Singh said.
The Defence Minister recalled India’s swift response following Cyclone Ditwah last year, when New Delhi launched ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’ to support Sri Lanka.
He said concerted efforts by the Indian Armed Forces and Sri Lankan government agencies helped save lives, restore connectivity and deliver relief and medical assistance.
Singh said Sri Lanka remains central to India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and its vision of ‘MAHASAGAR’, Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
He also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to Dissanayake and congratulated him on completing two years in office, saying Modi looks forward to continuing to work closely with him to further strengthen the special relationship between the two countries.
“Under your leadership, our bilateral relations have received a fresh impetus. A lot of credit goes to your drive and leadership towards the deepening of our bilateral relations. We greatly value your friendship and support,” Singh said.
On economic ties, Singh said India is among Sri Lanka’s largest trading partners and its largest investor, and expressed New Delhi’s keenness to further enhance trade and investment linkages.
He said India looks forward to moving “expeditiously” on the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA).
Singh also underlined that India’s development cooperation with Sri Lanka is “people-centric” and based on Colombo’s priorities and requirements, with Indian-assisted projects covering major sectors across all districts of the island nation.
The Defence Minister said he was confident that with Dissanayake’s vision and support, India-Sri Lanka ties would reach new heights, benefiting the two countries, their people and the wider region. (ANI)
