Expressbuzz P K Balachandran 02 Jan 2012
buzz
COLOMBO: India and Sri Lanka will sign a number of agreements to implement projects already agreed upon or which will be underway during the visit of India’s External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to Sri Lanka in the middle of this month, Indian official sources told Express on Sunday.
Details were not available as officials from both sides were still working on the agreements.Dates for Krishna’s visit have not been finalised tho-ugh it is expected to take pla-ce in mid-January.One of the projects that is expected to be taken up is the India-funded project to build 49,000 houses for war-displaced persons in North and East Sri Lanka, and Indian origin plantation labour in Central Sri Lanka.Asked if there was a plan to involve the United Nations in the imp-lementation of the housing project as reported in the Lankan media, an official said that all contracts would be subject to a transparent and open tendering process and any agency with the requisites could make a bid.The Lankan media are sp-eculating that the main purpose of Krishna’s visit will be to press the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to find a political solution to the Tamil question through devolution of power to the provinces as per the 13th amendment of the Lankan constitution.While the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has been pressing for the devolution of power over land and police, President Rajapaksa has rejected it as being unsuitable for the governance of a country like Sri Lanka. He has dubbed the demand as that of the LTTE, although devolution of power over land and police is provided for in the 13th Amendment of the constitution.India had supported Sri Lanka in world forums when the latter was attacked on the issue of war crimes.In return, India expects Sri Lanka to fulfil its promise to implement the 13th Amendment and move towards a genuine post-war reconciliation.However, Indian officials were non-committal on what exactly would be discussed when Krishna meets Rajapaksa.“When leaders of two countries meet at that level, they will discuss all matters of mutual interest,” a diplomat said.Krishna last visited Sri Lanka in November 2010, and the visit in January is considered overdue. 