Colombo, February 3 (newsin.asia): India’s Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K Jacob met with Mr. Rauff Hakeem, Member of Sri Lankan Parliament and Leader of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress on February 3 to discuss economic, financial and development cooperation opportunities between India and Sri Lanka.
Rauff Hakeem positively evaluated India’s gesture of supplying COVID-19 vaccines to Sri Lanka. He also shared his assessment of the challenges facing the Muslim community in recent times.
He briefed the Deputy High Commissioner about the issues involved in the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council session beginning later this month.
During the Virtual Bilateral Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in September 2020, the latter had expressed confidence that Sri Lanka will work towards realizing the expectations of all ethnic groups. The Deputy High Commissioner reiterated India’s long standing and principled position on meaningful devolution through the full implementation of 13th Amendment (13A) of the constitution and Provincial Councils.
The 13A, which is an offshoot of the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987, had set up elected provincial councils with a modicum of devolved powers. The 13A is currently under threat as Sri Lanka prepares to draft a new constitution which is expected to be more unitary than it is now.
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