COLOMBO: For the first time, India and Sri Lanka on Saturday inked an ambitious defence cooperation pact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlining a broader roadmap for deeper bilateral cooperation, asserting that security of both nations is interlinked and dependent on each other.The defence pact is among seven key agreements signed by the two sides following wide-ranging talks between PM Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.The defence pact, being seen as a major move to bolster strategic ties, came nearly four decades after the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s intervention in the island nation.”We believe that our security interests are similar. The security of both countries is interlinked and dependent on each other,” Modi said in his media statement.”I am grateful to President Dissanayake for his sensitivity towards India’s interests. We welcome the important agreements concluded in defence cooperation,” he said.In his remarks, Dissanayake said he assured PM Modi that Sri Lanka will not allow its territory to be used in any manner inimical to India’s security interests.He said he also conveyed to Modi that India’s assistance to Sri Lanka in times of need and continuing solidarity are deeply cherished.Another important agreement that the two sides inked was on developing Trincomalee as an energy hub.
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