India-Japan look to restart trilateral cooperation with Sri Lanka, but with caution
The HinduMore than two years after Sri Lanka cancelled a joint India-Japan MoU for the East Container Terminal project in Colombo, the three countries are studying ways of restarting trilateral cooperation, said envoys at a conference in Delhi on Thursday. With India and Japan coming to Sri Lanka’s rescue during last year’s economic crisis, and offering assistance with Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process, the Ranil Wickremesinghe government has also sought the return of infrastructure project plans as well as investment from both countries. India and Japan share a vision of a Free Open and Inclusive Indo-Pacific, which is of relevance to all countries in the region including Sri Lanka,” said India’s point person for the Indian Ocean Region, MEA Joint-Secretary Puneet Aggarwal, speaking at the conference on trilateral cooperation organised by three think tanks including India’s NatStrat and the Vivekananda India Foundation as well as Sri Lanka’s Pathfinder Foundation. The conference was based on a paper released by the Pathfinder Foundation, started by Sri Lanka’s envoy to India Milinda Moragoda, that suggests that India and Japan can work together on renewable energy and grid connectivity projects, development of Trincomalee as an oil pipeline hub, connectivity and people-centric projects like tourism and education. Japan’s Ambassador to India Hiroshi Suzuki said that Japan was keen to work with India on projects in South Asia, and sees India and Sri Lanka “as indispensable partners” in order to realise Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s vision of a Free and Open Indo Pacific, which he unveiled in a speech in Delhi this year.