Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday (15) said that history has brought India and Sri Lanka together like two sides of the same coin and the two countries must forge ahead together.
The President made this comment during an event to hand over a Dornier 228 Reconnaissance aircraft to Sri Lanka by India.
The President called for both countries to commit to further strengthening their relationship as India and Sri Lanka share many commonalities and the two countries have to build on it.
Addressing the gathering, President Wickremesinghe emphasized on the importance of ties between the two countries.
“He aid that the two countries are two sides of a single coin. It is not possible to split a coin for one face to fall one way and the other face to fall the other way.
For whatever it is, history has put us together and we have to stay together. The two countries are both marking our 75th anniversaries. let us commit ourselves to further strengthening our relationships,” he said.
The first ever Dornier Reconnaissance Aircraft from India to enhance the maritime surveillance capabilities of Sri Lanka was inducted to Sri Lanka Air Force Fleet yesterday (15th August 2022) in a ceremonial procession.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe was welcomed at the Sri Lanka Air Force Base in Katunayake by Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sudharshana Pathirana. The President was also accorded a special Guard of Honour by the Air Force troops.
The two countries have common viewpoints in many areas. Sri Lanka is a small country in the middle of the ocean, while India, while looking after its own interests must also look at its role as a global power.
After all India is our closest neighbor and there are many issues that are common to us of which we are understanding, of which we have to resolve. Not only issues pertaining to Indo-Lanka relations but to the region and to the world.
So in these areas it is possible for us, and it has been on many occasions for us to come to an agreement or have a similar viewpoint with India. It is with those that we consolidate.”
Congratulating India on its 75th Anniversary of independence, President Wickremesinghe noted, “India today is becoming a world power and it is still on the rise and by the mid-century when we are no longer there, you could see a powerful India playing a dominant role on the global stage.”
