Sri Lankan officials urged Indian authorities for swift action on the request for safe passage through Indian waters for multi-day fishing vessels traveling to the Arabian Sea. They also emphasized the severe damage caused to marine resources by Indian vessels using mechanical bottom-trawling in Sri Lankan waters.
The group meets after two and a half years
These were taken during the officer-level meeting of the Joint Working Group on Fisheries between India and Sri Lanka. The working group meeting was held in Colombo yesterday (29th). The discussions resumed after a lapse of nearly two and a half years. Both country representatives discussed the main objective of the Working Group, which is to prevent illegal activities by Indian fishing vessels in Sri Lankan waters.
The representatives of the two countries discussed the strengthening of joint patrolling of law enforcement authorities of both countries to prevent the entry of Indian vessels into Sri Lankan waters, the expeditious release of fishermen arrested by both countries after completion of legal proceedings, strengthening of hotline maintained by coast guards of both countries, the status of investigations into deaths of Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters and conducting of joint research related to the fisheries sector by the research institutes of both countries.
Both sides agreed to hold regular meetings of the Joint Working Group on Fisheries and monitor the progress of the agreed-upon matters.
The Sri Lankan delegation was comprised of several senior officials including the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, M.P.N.M. Mr. Wickremasinghe, Additional Secretary of Fisheries Dhammika Ranatunga, Director General of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Susantha Kahawatta, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Niluka Kadurugamuwa, Additional Solicitor General Vikum De Abrew, Additional Solicitor General Azard Navavi and Commodore A.D. Weerasinghe of Sri Lanka Navy. Indian Fisheries Secretary Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Santosh Jha, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs of India Shri Puneet Agarwal, Joint Secretary of Indian Fisheries Neetu Prasad, and several others participated in the discussion on behalf of the Government of India.
