New Delhi, Sept 23: Amid a change of guard in Sri Lanka, many former Indian diplomats on Monday said the results of the presidential election in the island country were on expected lines and going forward, the two neighbours will have to be sensitive to each other’s concerns.
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake took oath as the new president of Sri Lanka on Monday and said he would usher in a “renaissance” for his country.
The presidential election was the first to be held since mass protests unseated Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 after the country suffered an economic crisis.
Former secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Anil Wadhwa said irrespective of who is the president of Sri Lanka or which party is in power in the country, the relationship between Colombo and New Delhi “has to be on a good wicket”.
“Because there is a mutual dependency, moreso on the Sri Lankan side. But also India depends a lot on Sri Lanka for its security. So, I don’t see much of a change and (I see) more of a continuity, trying to maintain the same kind of relationship with whoever is in power,” the veteran diplomat told PTI here.
“India has been in touch with all the candidates as well, so there is an understanding that the relationship will continue the way it has been,” he said.
On the rise of 56-year-old Dissanayke, Wadhwa said it was “in the works” as for the past year or so, the Sri Lankan people were feeling that they should give a chance to somebody else because the other two parties did not deliver.
“In fact, the last few years have been pretty drastic because of the inflation… and shortages, etc., basically mismanagement of funds and wrong policies. So, they wanted to give a chance to another party, that is very true, very clear. It’s been there for some time. The only thing that was not certain was the margin of the victory or who will win between Premadasa and Dissanayake,” he added.
Venu Rajamony, who served as India’s envoy to the Netherlands from 2017 to 2020, said Sri Lanka and India will have to be sensitive to each other’s concerns and interests.
“It is too early to comment on the new government and the new leader but one thing that is obvious to everyone is that Sri Lanka makes such a close friend of India, will have to work closely with India and both countries will have to be sensitive to each other’s concerns and interests as we move forward,” the veteran diplomat told PTI.
Rajamony, currently working as a professor of diplomatic practice at O P Jindal Global University, also said there was a “great merit” in some of the initiatives that had been taken by the previous president to try and integrate the Sri Lankan economy closer with the Indian economy.
While it is understandable that the new Sri Lankan government will focus on fixing the country’s economic problems and address issues that matter the most to the poor, “one hopes that it will not stand in the way of a close partnership and relationship with India”, he said.
Both Wadhwa and Rajamony also underlined the geographical proximity and the cultural similarity between the two countries and how India assisted Sri Lanka after it fell into the debt crisis following the unprecedented political turmoil.
“We wish Sri Lanka and the new government and its people well and hope that they can return to a solid and sound economic footing. There is much for both the countries to benefit from a close working relationship and I am sure the Indian government will do its best to forge that and it is in the interest of the Sri Lankan government to reciprocate,” Rajamony said.
Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s ninth president by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the Presidential Secretariat.
The leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party’s broader front National People’s Power (NPP) defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in Saturday’s election.
Asked if the rise of a Marxist leader to power in the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s ties with China would cause any concern for New Delhi, Wadhwa and Rajamony said it wouldn’t.
“The Chinese were definitely backing the candidate who just won. Dissanayake was backed and they will be happier with him.
“But as far as he (Dissanayake) is concerned, he knows that tilting on one side is not going to be easy and (will be) very difficult for Sri Lanka. It is not as if these are hardcore Marxists like you see in other countries like Vietnam,” Wadhwa said.
Rajamony said that given the geography of the region and how close Sri Lanka is to India, China will always have a limited role there.
“Bilaterally, India-Sri Lanka ties should continue (to grow) and both sides should work towards that goal. Ultimately, it is in the interest of the new Sri Lankan government to forge a close ties with India and establish a good, comfortable and working relationship so that the people of both countries benefit,” he said. (PTI)
