An ambitious merger project. India and Sri Lanka agreed on Friday (July 21st) to consider the construction of a land bridge between the two countries, during an official visit to New Delhi by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the first since he came to power in 2022.
Establish “a land connection” in the Indian Ocean would give India access to the key ports of Trincomalee and Colombo and lead to enhanced “a millennial relationship”, specified the two neighboring States, in a strategic document, which also evokes the construction of an oil pipeline. As the Chinese presence grows in Sri Lanka, feasibility studies for this land bridge and an oil pipeline will be carried out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after their talks. The bridge would be built across the Palk Strait, which is some 25 kilometers wide in places. By comparison, the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK crosses the sea for around 38 kilometres.
Concerns about Chinese influence
Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit comes almost to the day a year after he became President of Sri Lanka. This former Prime Minister succeeded Gotabaya Rajapaksa, driven into exile by demonstrations against the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka, marked by shortages of essential foodstuffs, food, gasoline, medicines.
India released nearly $4 billion in aid as Colombo defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt. “Sri Lanka faced many challenges last year, but like an old friend, we have stood with the people of Sri Lanka during this time of crisis.”, underlined Narendra Modi. India considers Sri Lanka to be its natural zone of influence and its leaders are concerned about Beijing’s activities on the island and in the region.