Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 26 April 2017
:: National ::
India Sri Lanka to dicuss various important issues
Sri Lankan Prime Minister is set to announce several MoUs on developing energy and infrastructure projects in Trincomalee and fast-tracking negotiations for an upgraded free trade agreement — the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA).
Mr. Wickremesinghe, whose visit is expected to confirm a number of agreements to be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka from May 12 to 14, will meet Mr. Modi, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari.
Indian Govt hoped to see the agreement on the Trinco Oil storage and the development of infrastructure — highways, power plants, a refinery and an SEZ — around the key port town of Trincomalee to be wrapped up.
Oil union workers in Colombo went on a strike against the planned MoU with India for 84 tanks in the Trincomalee upper oil tank farm, of which Sri Lanka is keen to retain at least 10 for use by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
The unions called off the strike that hit fuel supplies in the country on Monday, but claim they have an assurance that their concerns over leasing the tanks to India will be taken into consideration before any announcement is made.
Commerce Ministry said India had sent a team to Sri Lanka recently to make presentations on the benefits of widening the FTA and had formally asked the government for a list of perceived “non-tariff barriers” that businessmen were complaining about.