Modi to kick off construction of India-Sri Lanka solar plant

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the construction of a long-delayed solar power project during his upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, an official said on Friday.

Vikram Misri, the secretary of India's foreign ministry, said Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will witness a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for their joint-venture solar power project in the island's northeast on April 5.

The proposed 120-megawatt venture in the northeastern coastal district of Trincomalee has stalled for years, but New Delhi backed it as a joint project between the neighboring nations.

"This, in many senses, is going to be a milestone in the bilateral partnership," Misri told reporters in New Delhi.

"They will together dedicate several projects that are being built with Indian assistance in Sri Lanka and will also witness the exchange of several MoUs pertaining to energy connectivity, digitization, defense, health, and multisectoral grant assistance."

The pair will watch the virtual groundbreaking from Sri Lankan capital Colombo. The costs of the project were not immediately available.

The groundbreaking, a day before Modi concludes his two-night visit to Sri Lanka, comes as Colombo grapples with the competing interests of its powerful northern neighbor and China, its largest lender.

Modi will be the first foreign head of government to visit the island nation under the new administration of leftist Dissanayake. He flies into Colombo on April 4 after attending a regional conference in Thailand.

Dissanayake's first foreign visit after his election last year was to New Delhi in December.

Sri Lankan officials in Colombo said Modi and Dissanayake will travel to the northern Buddhist pilgrimage city of Anuradhapura on April 6.

Dissanayake travelled to Beijing in January, underscoring Sri Lanka's delicate balancing act in maintaining ties with the two regional rivals.

Balancing act

New Delhi has been concerned about China's growing influence in Sri Lanka, which it considers to be within its sphere of geopolitical influence.

Dissanayake travelled to Beijing in January for his second foreign visit as president, underscoring Sri Lanka's delicate balancing act of maintaining ties with the two regional rivals.

Beijing was also the first to restructure its loans to Sri Lanka, a move that cleared the way for the island to emerge from that year's worst-ever economic meltdown.