A new ferry service was recently inaugurated between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai near Jaffna in Sri Lanka's Northern Province. The ferry was launched from Nagapattinam by India's Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participating through a video link.
The event was virtually attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka. Additionally, Sri Lanka's Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, joined the ceremony remotely.
In his remarks, Prime Minister Modi referenced a vision document on economic partnership adopted during President Wickremesinghe's visit to India in July 2023, highlighting the theme of connectivity between the two nations. He also mentioned the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor launched at the G20 summit, noting potential benefits for Sri Lanka as multimodal connectivity is enhanced.
Prime Minister Modi mentioned that both governments will continue collaborating to launch additional ferry services on the traditional Rameswaram-Talaimannar sector, further augmenting maritime connectivity between India and Sri Lanka.