K S Radhakrishnan - KSR Blogs

  EDITORIAL - Pivot to Delhi

Sri Lanka’s newly elected president, Aruna Kumara Dissanayake, has made it clear that strengthening ties with India, the regional powerhouse, will be a cornerstone of his foreign policy. Within hours of his election victory, Dissanayake held his first meeting with a foreign official—India’s High Commissioner, Santosh Jha, in Colombo. He is also set to make his first official overseas visit to New Delhi, marking his second trip to the Indian capital this year alone. This represents a significant shift from the vehement, and violent, anti-Indian stance once held by Dissanayake’s party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). However, New Delhi must approach this cautiously. Unless Dissanayake is willing to fully embrace not only India but also the concerns of Tamils on both sides of the Palk Strait, progress in building these ties could quickly unravel. Read more http://tamilguardian.com/content/pivot-…