New Delhi: Sri Lanka President Gotayaba Rajapaksa on Friday assured that his country will take steps to release the Indian fishermen's boats which are in the island nation's custody.
Addressing media after holding talks with Modi, Gotayaba Rajapaksa said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I discussed several important topics this morning. The discussion was extremely cordial and reassuring. Among these the cooperation concerning the security of our two countries took priority."
"We discussed in length the fishermen issue. We will take steps to release the boats belonging to India in our custody," he added.
Indian fishermen are apprehended by Sri Lankan authorities regularly for allegedly breaching International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), the imaginary line in the waters between India and Sri Lanka.
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During his address, PM Modi also said that New Delhi and Colombo have agreed to have a constructive and humanitarian approach in this matter of fishermen.
"We also discussed issues affecting the livelihood of fishermen. We agree that we will continue to have a constructive and humanitarian approach in this matter," PM Modi said.
"I want to thank PM Modi for offering a fifty million dollar line of credit to enhance the capabilities of the intelligence agencies," Gotabaya said.
He also said," With India, our cooperation is multi-faceted with priority given to security-related matters."
PM Modi congratulated Rajapaksa on his recent election victory and said it is a matter of honor for us that President Rajapaksa chose India for his first foreign trip.
"I want to extend my hearty congratulation to President Gotayaba for his election victory. I want to congratulate the people of Sri Lanka for successfully concluding the election process," PM Modi said.
"It is a matter of honor for us that President Rajapaksa chose India for his first foreign trip and allowed us to honor him in India within two weeks of taking office," he added.
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