India-Sri Lanka Relations

Relations with Sri Lanka have moved from crisis management to a deeper strategic and developmental embrace. After bankrolling a roughly USD 4 billion lifeline through Colombo's 2022 meltdown, India used Prime Minister Modi's April 2025 state visit to lock in a first-ever defence cooperation pact, a trilateral energy hub at Trincomalee with the UAE, and the conclusion of bilateral debt restructuring. President Disanayaka, who chose New Delhi for his first foreign trip in December 2024, conferred on Modi the Mitra Vibhushana, the island's top honour for a foreign leader. The old irritants, Tamil Nadu fishermen in the Palk Bay and the Katchatheevu question, still shadow the relationship.