(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka and India will hold the third round of ministerial-level talks on the fishermen issue of in Colombo this week to resolve the nagging dispute.
The third round of the series of discussions conducted by the Joint Working Group on Fisheries set up by the Sri Lanka and Indian government to find a lasting solution to the fisheries problems will be held in Colombo on Friday, the Minister of Fishers and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Amaraweera said.
Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in India, Minister Radha Mohan Singh will lead a delegation at the meeting representing the Indian side while Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Secretary to the Ministry Mangalika Adhikari, Director General of Fisheries Christy Lal Fernando and several provincial ministers in charge of fishing subjects will be participating in the discussion representing Sri Lanka. Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran will also be a member of the Sri Lankan delegation.
Minister Amaraweera said that the aim of the meeting is to find a lasting solution to the present fishing crisis. The Minister will have a prior meeting with a group of representatives of fishing community in the North tomorrow at the Ministry. Several members of Tamil fishing community from the north will participate in the meeting.
At the first round of ministerial level talks held in November 2016 in New Delhi, the two sides agreed for a Joint Working Group on Fisheries to meet every three months and a meeting between the Ministers for Fisheries every six months.