Ranil to meet Modi today, fishermen issue expected to be on agenda

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to meet PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Wickremesinghe, who is on his first overseas trip after assuming the top office for the fourth term, is expected to hold extensive talks with the Indian leadership on various issues including the sensitive fishermen issue. Wikremesinghe has vowed to strengthen ties with India but has taken a tough stand on the fishermen issue as in March he stoked a controversy suggesting that Indian fishermen may be shot if they intruded into Lankan waters. PM Modi and Wickremesinghe are also expected to explore ways to further boost bilateral ties. The proposed comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two countries and the Tamil ethnic issue are likely to figure in the talks. He arrived in India yesterday on a three- day visit and was received at the airport by Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in as Sri Lanka's prime minister for the fourth time last month following his party's victory in the parliamentary polls, will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will also meet the Sri Lankan Prime Minister. The visit assumes significance as President Maithripala Sirisena also chose India to be his first overseas destination after being elected to office in January. 66-year-old Wickremesinghe was picked by President Sirisena, who handed a shock defeat to Mahinda Rajapaksa in the polls, to lead a minority government in January till the parliamentary elections last month. (With PTI inputs)