The Governments of Sri Lanka and India have initiated diplomatic discussions on the issue of Indian fishermen adopting bottom trawling method on Sri Lankan waters.
First round of discussions was held in November in New Delhi with a view to arriving at a permanent solution to this issue. The delegation was comprised of Minister of Fisheries, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other high officials.
The second round is scheduled to be held on 02nd January 2017 in Colombo and a round of High Level discussions will be held 29th and 30th December in New Delhi to which four members including the Secretary to the Fisheries Ministry, Director General of the Department and SL Naval offices will be participating.
The discussion on 02nd January will be held with the participation of the Indian External Affairs Minister, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in India, Minister Radha Mohan Singh. Fisheries Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister will be participating in the discussion representing Sri Lanka.