India on Thursday once again stressed that Sri Lanka should adhere to its “international commitments” relating to development of the East Container Terminal at its Colombo port, days after the island nation cancelled a trilateral agreement for the project, PTI reported

“Our High Commissioner in Colombo is in discussion with the government of Sri Lanka, including on the importance of adhering to international commitments,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, during a weekly briefing.

On Tuesday, Sri Lanka had cancelled a 2019 deal with India to develop the Terminal with the Adani Group as an investor. The country’s government decided that the facility will be completely owned and operated by the state-run Sri Lanka Port Authority. Colombo had earlier said that 49% of the operations at the port would be controlled by India and Japan.

Following the decision, a spokesperson for the Indian embassy in Colombo had said that “all sides should continue to abide by the existing understandings and commitment.” The Sri Lankan authorities, meanwhile, offered New Delhi another undertaking to develop the West Container Terminal at the same facility on a public private partnership model along with Japan.

Highlighting the significance of the tripartite deal, Srivastava on Thursday, said: “We sincerely believe that the development of infrastructure in Sri Lanka, in areas such as ports and energy, with foreign investment from India and Japan will be a mutually beneficial proposition.”

The Indian envoy in Sri Lanka has held separate meetings with the country’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and foreign minister Dinesh Gunawerdene to convey India’s position, according to the Hindustan Times. The Japanese envoy too has met the Sri Lankan leadership to discuss the matter.

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India asks Sri Lanka to ‘abide by commitment’ after Colombo cancels port deal, offers another