Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka this time is significant as the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to the Island will lead to several treaties to be signed between the two countries with regard to the regional security and several economic endeavors. However in the backdrop of Indian Premier’s visit to Sri Lanka this week, fishing of Tamil Nadu fishermen on the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) areas remains a thorny issue between the two countries and the Tamil Nadu State Government unanimously passed a resolution to retrieve Katchatheevu Island, ceded to Sri Lanka, as a permanent solution to protect the traditional fishing rights of the state’s fishermen.

Moving the resolution, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that it has become a habit for some political parties to spread a false information campaign that it was the state government that ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. “Even the Union government is making the same mistake. This is regrettable and unacceptable,” he said. As far as Katchatheevu was concerned, then Chief Minister M.Karunanithi opposed ceding it and even the DMK MPs, then, objected.

Two fishermen were being arrested daily by the Sri Lankan Navy if one went by the statistics presented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on March 27 the report by the Minister said 97 Indian fishermen were in Lankan prison. “Last year alone, about 530 fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lanka Navy,” the chief minister added. A policy note on Fisheries department tabled in the Assembly said from 2021 to 2025 ( upto March 27, 2025), 1,383 fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy. Due to the decisive efforts taken by this government, 1,287 fishermen have been released and repatriated. Continuous efforts are being taken by the Tamil Nadu State Government to release and repatriate the remaining 96 fishermen and 229 fishing boats that are in the custody of Sri Lankan government,” according to the Tamil Nadu State Government.

Meanwhile the Northern fishermen who have been affected by the intrusion of the Indian fishermen have also handed over a memorandum at the Indian Consular General’s office in Jaffna urging the Indian Government to take proper action to prevent the Indian fishermen intruding into the Lankan waters hampering the livelihood of the Northern fisher folk. In the meantime Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting out of Colombo to Anuradhapura which is one of the oldest cities in the Island.

It is in Anuradhapura the sapling of the Bo Tree, under which Buddha meditated and attained enlightenment was brought by the Emperor Ashoka’s son Mahinda and daughter Sangamitta. So the holy Bo Tree still remains historically and spiritually important among Buddhists in Sri Lanka. The Bo Tree in Anuradhapura also considered as an oldest tree in the Island. Following the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Anuradhapura, Sri Lankan security officials have strengthened the security on the guidelines of Indian security personnel in the holy city. Four MI-helicopters of the Indian Air Force have been flown from India to transport the Indian Prime Minister within Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in completion of his Lankan visit will travel to Rameswaram to commission the reconstructed Pamban Bridge linking Indian mainland and Rameswaram in the Southern tip of India. In the good old days before the beginning of the North and East civil strife in Sri Lanka, It was between Rameswaram and Thalai Mannar in Sri Lanka, passenger ship service had taken place paving way for closer interaction between the Lankan and Indian travellers.

Prime Minister Modi will also discuss issues pertaining to power generation and the enhanced trading activities between the two countries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka this week, marks a crucial moment in the evolving relationship between the two nations. The Indian leader has made three visits to the island nation, in 2015, 2017 and the most recent in 2019. The first two visits involved major bilateral exchanges while the visit in 2019 was a mark of solidarity in the aftermath of the Easter attacks. This current visit is being anticipated for quite some time and it now comes at a time when Sri Lanka has had a significant political transformation and seeks to leverage India’s burgeoning economic and technological prowess for mutual benefit.

Following his two-day stay in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also travel to Thailand and Myanmar which have been devastated by recent earthquake.