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Geopolitical dimensions of Colombo Port development Daily News (via HT Media Ltd.)
With a capacity of 7.2 million TEUs, an annual cargo tonnage of nearly 40 million tons, and a dredged depth of over 15 metres, the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka is among the world’s top 25. Its strategic location on the main East–West shipping lane is a major attraction. And given the absence of good ports in India, Colombo is also the main transshipment hub for Indian cargo.
“But Sri Lanka’s attractiveness is not an unmixed blessing. It has spawned challenges,” says Foreign Secretary Admiral (Rtd) Prof. Jayanath Colombage.
LankaWeb – Politics of Colombo port s Eastern Container Terminal lankaweb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lankaweb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
India moves to strengthen strategic relations with Sri Lanka and the Maldives
India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited Colombo late last month to participate in a Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation meeting. Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Major General (Rtd.) Kamal Gunaratne, represented Sri Lanka, and Mariya Didi, the Minister of Defence, represented the Maldives at the meeting.
Revived after six years, the gathering, which involved India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, further highlights the Modi government’s efforts to strengthen strategic relations with its smaller neighbours.
India s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at the Pentagon in 2017 (Wikimedia)
Colombo Port operations nearing normalcy View(s):
Sri Lanka’s shipping industry together with the authorities are currently working out a strategy to ensure shipping lines will now return to the Colombo port as operations are reaching near normalcy.
Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Gen. Daya Ratnayaka told the Business Times on Friday that the Colombo port has returned to normal with berthing of vessels and inter terminal transfers coming back to normal while there are about 10,000 containers to be transferred which is a normal occurance.
This assurance is required to ensure that the shipping lines will re-route and call Colombo again for which the authorities are working together with the shipping industry in Colombo.