Modi confident of genuine reconciliation in Lanka

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed confidence that India is confident that Sri Lanka will achieve genuine reconciliation and development under the current leadership. This he said will enabled all Sri Lankans, including the Sri Lankan Tamil community, can live a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity in a united Sri Lanka. Addressing a joint press conference with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in New Delhi, Premier Modi said this is a historic year for India-Sri Lanka relations, as it is for Sri Lanka. "We had the honour of hosting President Sirisena on his maiden visit abroad in February. I had the privilege of an extraordinary visit to Sri Lanka in March. Now, we have Prime Minister Wickremesinghe here," he said. "Sri Lanka has voted twice this year for change, reforms, reconciliation and progress. There can be no stronger statement of Sri Lanka’s democratic tradition. There can be no clearer sign of Sri Lanka’s march towards a peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous future," Regarding the longstanding issue of fishermen issue between the two countries PM Modi said that he and Lankan Prime Minister discussed the fishermen issue. "We agreed that fishermen's associations on both sides should continue their efforts to find a solution." "I conveyed to him that this should be seen as a humanitarian issue that affects livelihoods. I informed him of the steps we are taking to encourage Indian fishermen to take up deep sea fishing," he said. Meanwhile Srilankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe said that they are looking at how power sharing and devolution take place within the Constitution, with in a unity state. Premier Wickremesinghe said he held discussions with his PM Narendra Modi over a host of issues, such as their programme of creating one million jobs over the next five years. “Peace as stability in the region is the key to our success. We look at further cooperation between our two countries of permanent agreement on cooperation, economic affairs, trade, investments, and also on technology which is essential for development,” he said.