By Shrinivas Iyer
High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, H.E. Santosh Jha, graced the annual dinner hosted by the Sri Lanka–India Society (SLIS) to commemorate India’s 79th Independence Day. The event, held on Monday, was attended by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, alongside business leaders, investors, media professionals, and members of SLIS led by its President, Ms. Yamuna Ganeshalingam.
In his keynote address, High Commissioner Jha highlighted the strong momentum in bilateral relations, recalling recent state visits that have propelled ties to a “historic high.” He cited the December 2024 visit of Sri Lankan President H.E. Anura Kumara Disanayaka to India and the April 2025 visit of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Colombo, which resulted in seven MoUs and new initiatives in connectivity, energy security, digital transformation, and regional cooperation.
“India and Sri Lanka are natural partners and civilizational twins,” Jha said, underlining New Delhi’s commitment to supporting Sri Lanka under its ‘Neighborhood First’ policy and ‘MAHASAGAR’ vision. He also invited Sri Lanka to harness India’s rise as the fastest-growing major economy, projected to become the world’s second-largest by purchasing power parity by 2038. India’s development partnership in Sri Lanka, worth nearly USD 7 billion, spans housing, health, education, digitization, renewable energy, and infrastructure, with over USD 800 million in grants covering all 25 districts.
Minister Jayatissa, in his remarks, praised India’s economic growth and called on Indian companies to invest in Sri Lanka, particularly in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. He also lauded the Sri Lanka–India Society for its role since its founding in 1949 in nurturing cultural and social bonds, noting that SLIS remains the oldest friendship society between the two nations and continues to deepen people-to-people ties.
