A. Jathindra
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Harini Amarasuriya, has made her first official visit to New Delhi. She previously remarked that Sri Lanka lacks a coherent foreign policy: “We do not seem to have a coherent foreign policy; every minister comes in, and they tend to take unilateral decisions, and the government tends to take unilateral decisions—not based on any kind of coherent policy; that’s something we really need to change.”
Notably, this trip to India follows her recent official visit to China. Amarasuriya was invited to China by President Xi Jinping to attend the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women. During her stay, she held wide-ranging discussions with President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, focusing on deepening Sri Lanka’s engagement with China and further consolidating the longstanding friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two nations.
Can the visit to New Delhi, coming directly after the trip to China, be seen as an expression of the National People’s Power’s (NPP) foreign policy approach—one that seeks to maintain an equal distance from both countries?
The democratic rise of the JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna), which previously failed to seize power through armed struggle, was not solely a victory of its ideology. Rather, it was the economic crisis and a subsequent leadership vacuum that rallied people to the NPP. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake became a charismatic political figure and ended the eight-decade-long political domination of Sri Lanka’s old elites. Even the Tamil minority, who historically voted for Tamil parties, overwhelmingly supported the NPP. In this context, one may question whether the JVP could have come to power if not for the country’s bankruptcy.
Yet, the JVP still cannot contest elections independently; it must do so under the NPP banner. This marks a significant departure from the traditional JVP. The JVP’s historical anti-India and anti-Western stance continues to raise concerns. The recent US State Department report on Sri Lanka’s economic conditions highlights persistent doubts among foreign investors, citing the JVP’s past positions and Marxist ideology.
Bilateral relations are difficult to manage under a cloud of suspicion. Diplomacy cannot always operate as if under constant threat. The JVP must further evolve to dispel these doubts.
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