Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Colombo on Friday for a three-day visit to Sri Lanka after he concluded his Thailand visit where he attended the BIMSTEC summit and also held bilateral talks with Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus and Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
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00:00Hello and welcome to the special edition of World Today from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
00:24Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just landed in Colombo and he was welcomed by the Indian
00:31community here, by the Tamil community here.
00:34There's also many excited Sri Lankans waiting at Taj Samudra, the hotel where Prime Minister
00:39Narendra Modi is staying.
00:41We will be going across to my colleague, Nagarjun Dwarkanath, who's also here in Colombo reporting
00:48with me on what that entire colour of Prime Minister's welcome looked like.
00:55But before that, there are a few important things that are going to happen over here.
00:58Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first foreign leader visiting on an official visit
01:05to Colombo after President Narendra Modi took over.
01:07There are many key agreements that are going to be signed in information technology, pharmaceutical,
01:13energy cooperation, the launching of a solar power plant, but one of the key elements is
01:18going to be a defence agreement between India and Sri Lanka.
01:22Let's now go across to the report Nagarjun filed with people waiting to welcome Prime
01:29Minister Modi.
01:37Well, this is the second time that the Prime Minister would be visiting the IPKF monument
01:46or the memorial.
01:47He did visit once in 2015 as soon as he took oath in 2014.
01:51In his first trip as Prime Minister to Sri Lanka, he did visit the IPKF.
01:56It's also posturing about what India has done to the country here, what India is capable
02:01of, sending the forces for peacekeeping mission, fighting militancy, fighting civil war, remembering
02:08the soldiers.
02:09This monument or memorial was built in 2008.
02:12This is the first time that the Prime Minister had gone to the memorial in 2015.
02:16It's also a messaging to the people back home and also the military armed forces that the
02:20Prime Minister is solidly with you and the country respects the sacrifices that the men
02:25in the Indian army have done.
02:29Nagarjun Dwarkanath continues to be with me, Naga.
02:32Excited people over there, I could see.
02:34Tell me, what are the expectations of the people from Sri Lanka, particularly the Tamil
02:40community when it comes to the Indian Premier?
02:43Well, the Prime Minister just reached the hotel here a few minutes back and the Indian
02:49crowd embraced this reception, warmly welcomed him with Indian flags, Sri Lankan flags.
02:55Many Tamilians had come to see him.
02:57They are just hoping that he puts out a message for them also.
03:00It's not just something credible they're looking at or solid that they're looking at.
03:04His presence gives them some hope, is what many people said.
03:07They were people from all walks of life, doctors, lawyers, also people who have settled here.
03:12Not just that, but also senior citizens who are just waiting in the queue for four hours,
03:17trying to touch the Prime Minister, trying to seek his attention and also give out a
03:22poster or a drawing.
03:24All that happened, small kids to senior citizens stood in the queue, waiting for the Prime
03:28Minister and most of them were delighted to see the Prime Minister.
03:54It's a puppet show, as you can see, a puppet show.
04:20After completing a successful BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, Thailand, Prime Minister Narendra
04:47Modi has landed and is in Colombo for a three-day visit to Sri Lanka.
04:52A lot on the agenda, but let's begin with what the two leaders are going to do.
04:58Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President D'Souza will travel together to the historic
05:02city of Anuradhapura, where they will pay their respects at the Mahabodhi Temple.
05:07He will visit Peacekeeping Monument tomorrow to pay respects to the soldiers who lost their
05:13lives between 1987 and 1990.
05:17Prime Minister Modi is also expected to raise the issue of fishermen with the Sri Lankan
05:22leadership.
05:24The two leaders will also witness the virtual groundbreaking of the Sampur Solar Energy
05:29Project.
05:30They will jointly inaugurate two India-assisted projects.
05:34This will be Prime Minister Modi's first visit after President Anurag Kumar D'Souza's assumed
05:40office last year.
05:42It will also be a follow-up to the Sri Lankan president's state visit to India in December
05:47last year.
05:48We are, after all, civilizational twins, so to that extent this is a very natural thing
05:53to happen and it's very symbolic and positive.
05:55This visit, the fourth visit of Narendra Modi, could be history-defining because then it
06:01could really determine the economic closeness between two civilizational twins.
06:06No, I don't think so.
06:07I mean, see, China is a reality for the world.
06:11India is there everywhere.
06:12China is in India, too.
06:13I mean, I was looking at some data saying that India is actually one of the biggest,
06:16one of India's biggest bilateral trade partners is actually China.
06:20He's the first foreign leader to come to Sri Lanka after the new president has taken over
06:28power.
06:29He was also the first, you know, he used, he went to India on his first foreign trip
06:37in December last year.
06:40So it is, in that sense, a very, very important visit.
06:43We are, as you would recall, we had a very good outcome in December 2024, so we are taking
06:50forward the elements of that understanding.
06:53Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the Indian Peacekeeping Force monument
06:57right behind me.
06:58He would be visiting tomorrow to pay respects to the soldiers who have lost their life battling
07:03here in Sri Lanka.
07:05In 1987 to 1990, soldiers from India fought their battle here to curb the militancy to
07:11end the civil war inside Sri Lanka.
07:13Over a thousand people or the thousand soldiers had lost their lives battling here in the
07:18Sri Lankan soil.
07:19As a respect to them, as a memory to them, in 2008, this monument was built.
07:24This is not the first time that the Prime Minister is visiting this monument, paying
07:27respects to the soldiers of Indian Army.
07:30Back in 2015, when Sri Lankan visit was happening from the Prime Minister's end, from the Indian
07:35government end, Narendra Modi did visit this place in 2015 and pay respects as well.
07:42This is the second time that he would be doing here.
07:44He's on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka.
07:46Tomorrow, he would be holding diplomatic talks with the President of Sri Lanka and in the
07:50evening, he would be visiting this monument and paying respects to the soldiers of the
07:55Indian Army who have lost their lives.
07:57This is Nagarjun Dwarkanath for India Today.
08:28And that was planted here in Anuradhapura and today, we will be looking at how India
08:35and Sri Lanka are coming together and with Prime Minister's visit, an enhancement of
08:41those ties.
08:42In fact, Anuradhapura was destroyed by the Chola dynasty during an invasion and today,
08:50India is looking to rebuild that city economically and culturally.
08:57A decade ago, the Prime Minister of India in his first term was in Anuradhapura, the
09:08ancient city of Sri Lanka.
09:11Prime Minister Modi paid homage at the Sri Mahabodhi tree in Anuradhapura's Mahamevana
09:17Gardens.
09:18This ancient tree was the sapling of the Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment
09:25in Bodh Gaya.
09:28It was brought to Anuradhapura by Mauryan Emperor Ashoka's daughter Sanghamitra in the
09:333rd century BC.
09:36Her brother Mahendra was sent with a Buddhist delegation by their father to Lanka.
09:43Anuradhapura was then the capital city of the island country.
09:47According to traditional Sri Lankan chronicles such as the Mahavamsa and the Deepavamsa,
09:53the then king of Anuradhapura, Devanampiya Tissa received sermons from Mahendra and converted
09:59to Buddhism and so did his people.
10:03The city of Anuradhapura was established a couple of centuries before this by a banished
10:09prince of Indian origin.
10:11It was named after one of his ministers, Anuradha.
10:16It was initially called Anuradhagrama.
10:19Its older name was also mentioned in the work of ancient Greek and Roman scholars.
10:25Anuradhapura served as the capital of successive Lankan kingdoms for centuries till the destructive
10:30invasion of Chola kings, Raja Raja I and his son Rajendra I.
10:36Over the next centuries till the British colonial rule, Anuradhapura lost its glory as the capital
10:42of Sri Lanka.
10:44Only 205 km from Colombo in the north-central plain of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura today is
10:51a World UNESCO Heritage Site and the capital city of the province by the historic Malwatu-Oya
10:58River.
10:59The Indian Prime Minister will be back again in this ancient city a decade later to pay
11:05homage to the ancient Bodhi tree that planted Buddhism in the island nation.
11:12Bureau Report, India Today.
11:14A dwindling Sri Lankan economy has been struggling ever since it announced bankruptcy in the
11:24year 2022.
11:26With Donald Trump slapping tariffs worth 44% on exports from Sri Lanka, they fear that
11:34business is going to look very bad for the country and at such a time, Sri Lanka is also
11:41going to have to start repaying its IMF debt starting 2028.
11:47And it is looking at its neighbour and ally India for help.
11:52US President Donald Trump slapped Sri Lanka with a 44% tariff on exports.
12:00The island country struggling with its economy is put in a tight spot.
12:09This will be implemented on April 9th.
12:11Before that, we will start discussions to see whether there is a possibility to reduce
12:15the tariffs because we are in a very special situation.
12:18Although we have a very favourable trade balance, we are tied up with an IMF programme and the
12:23country has been stabilised after an economic crisis.
12:31Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy and entered an agreement with the International Monetary
12:36Fund in 2022.
12:38Debt repayments are due to start in 2028.
12:42Key Lankan industries in a structured IMF recovery programme such as garment, rubber
12:48and some agricultural categories may get hit hard by Trump's tariffs.
12:53I would consider it serious because we are still at the tail end of the stabilisation
13:00process and our debt repayment will start in 2028 and the apparel industry, the rubber
13:06industry and some of the agricultural products were the main categories that we were looking
13:10for expanding and out of our exports about 20% to 25% is for the US markets.
13:16So at the early stages, having this impact of 44% tariff on most of these products is
13:23definitely going to impact the growth of those sectors.
13:25So as for our exports, which will impact our dollar inflow.
13:29So I would rate it quite serious.
13:33The US market accounts for 20 to 25% of all Sri Lankans exports and the dollar does boost
13:39its ailing economy.
13:42Most likely some of the apparel companies will be thinking about shifting their orders
13:47to other parts of the world because it's the comparative tariff that matters.
13:51They have also imposed tariffs on China, Bangladesh.
13:53So if Bangladesh's tariff rates are comparatively lower than us, they have an advantage through
13:59shifting the orders to Bangladesh instead of manufacturing it here or to Africa or wherever.
14:04So that challenge is there, that risk is there on one side.
14:09The other challenge is more with the consumption shrink in the US because we are not exporting
14:15critical or very essential products to the US market.
14:18So with the consumption shrink, anyway we will get affected.
14:23India has been a constant support for Sri Lanka.
14:25The overall Indian credit assistance to Sri Lanka amounts to over US$7 billion including
14:32concessional loans, deferment of payment and swap agreements.
14:36India's grant assistance to Sri Lanka currently stands at around US$780 million which includes
14:44completed projects worth US$390 million, ongoing projects worth over US$210 million and another
14:54US$178 million worth of projects in the pipeline.
14:58We always see India as a big brother to Sri Lanka.
15:01We can never forget the support India extended to Sri Lanka during the crisis and I would
15:09also like to remember that Indian government beyond what they can do, they did for Sri Lanka.
15:18Prime Minister Modi's current visit will further strengthen ties between the two countries
15:24to help rebuild Sri Lankan economy amidst Trump's global trade war.
15:29With Nagarjun Dwarkanath, Bureau Report, India Today.
15:36Right before the Sri Lanka visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Thailand, in Bangkok
15:44for the BIMSTEC Summit where the leaders of the regional bloc adopted Bangkok Vision 2030.
15:52He also met with leaders on the sidelines of BIMSTEC and did raise the issue of Sheikh
15:57Haseena and minority persecution with the Bangladeshi leadership.
16:03Amid strained ties between India and Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting
16:07with Bangladesh's Chief Advisor, Muhammad Yunus in Thailand.
16:11The first since the ouster of Sheikh Haseena regime last August.
16:17The two leaders engaged in a firm handshake before sitting down for bilateral talks.
16:22Ministry of External Affairs briefed the media on Modi-Yunus meeting, saying that the talks
16:26happened on the lines of having stronger ties between neighboring nations.
16:31Mainly, Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of attack on Indian minorities in Bangladesh
16:36as also on Hindus of Bangladesh and demanded a strict security for them.
16:44India also demanded a probe against minority persecution and attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.
16:51Muhammad Yunus also presented a portrait to Prime Minister Modi of him presenting a gold
16:56medal to Yunus at the 102nd Indian Congress, Indian Science Congress in 2015.
17:03Prime Minister Modi also held bilateral talks with Thailand Prime Minister Srinivasa Thakur
19:03And here are some other stories from across the world in World at a Glance.
19:33The Trump administration has fired the Director and Deputy Director of the National Security
19:46Agency.
19:47General Timothy Hoare, who also leads U.S. Cyber Command, the military's offensive and
19:52defensive cyber unit, and Wendy Noble, Hoare's deputy at NSA, both were removed.
20:01U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at NATO headquarters for second of the meeting.
20:07Rubio had said that there are differences of opinion amongst NATO allies but that they
20:12can work through them.
20:14The U.S. Secretary of State provided assurances that America will not make concessions going
20:20against the interests and red lines of Ukraine and Europe.
20:30Stories of Japanese banks plunged on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs
20:35sparked fears of a downturn in global growth that could choke off a fragile recovery and
20:41delay rate increases in the world's fourth-largest economy.
20:45The Tokyo index of banking stocks was down 10 percent.
20:48In South Korea, the benchmark, KOSPI, closed down to 0.86 percent, at its lowest since
20:55February 3.
20:56Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said the market slide due to his decision to impose
21:01tariffs was expected and the step was needed to heal the economy.
21:26South Korea's Constitutional Court has removed President Yun Suk-yol from office.
21:57as it upheld parliament's impeachment.
22:00After Yun briefly declared martial law in December, South Korea was plunged into a political
22:05turmoil.
22:06The court's decision on Friday marks Yun's formal dismissal from the presidency after
22:11parliament voted to impeach him late last year.
22:14His removal takes effect immediately.
22:17This means he must now leave the presidential residence and this will affect the election
22:22to replace him.
22:24Following the removal, South Korea's presidential flag, which flew alongside the national flag
22:30at the presidential office in Seoul, was lowered at half-mast.
22:33We're here in Sri Lanka and we'll be tracking all the developments when it comes to Prime
22:40Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka over the next two days.
22:45But for now, it's a wrap on this edition of World Today.
22:48Goodbye and take care.