Fishing committees of Sri Lanka, India to promote goodwill

Colombo: The fishing committees of India and Sri Lanka would meet in Colombo in June to figure out solutions to the existing issues.
On the eve of a crucial round of talks on the matter on Sunday, Sri Lankan fisheries ministry spokesman Narendra Rajapaksa said the committee was appointed as a result of the talks between Fishing Minister Rajitha Senarane and his Indian counterpart Sharad Pawar early this year.

“The talks would start here at 9 am tomorrow. There will be 18 representatives from the Tamil Nadu fishing community who will meet 20 Sri Lankan fishing community leaders along with officials from the two countries,” he said.

The talks, which were to take place in mid-March, did not take place as the Tamil Nadu government protested the detention of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka.

Both countries have been embroiled in bitter fishermen issues over the years. The Tamil Nadu government had demanded the release of all Indian fishermen before the talks.

Sri Lanka had seized over 160 fishermen despite the agreements reached at the talks between the two sides held in Chennai in January.