Sri Lanka recalls envoy, a friend of India

New Delhi, June 5, 2015: Sri Lanka has recalled its envoy to India Sudharshan Seneviratne, within a year of his appointment and just when bilateral ties were looking up between the two neighbours. Acknowledging that he has been asked to return, Seneviratne, a highly respected academic who has many friends in India, believes that both countries need to understand each other and take care of each other. Seneviratne, who has studied in Hindu College in Delhi University and done his doctorate at Jawaharlal University, said he has been working on a “multi-track” diplomatic engagement that would be a “win-win” situation for both, helping to bring the two neighbors closer. “There is a lot of good faith that has to come out. There is a natural inhibition about India’s largeness, it has larger capital, and to work on that one has to look at a win-win situation; we have to think in terms of working together,” Seneviratne told IANS in an interview. “Both countries have to take care of each other. Sri Lanka needs India and India needs Sri Lanka, especially because of its strategic location, as this is their opening to their backyard. If Sri Lanka is not kept secure India is not safe. And this message should be understood even in Tamil Nadu,” he said. “It should be a win-win situation, not imposing and patronising. We need to understand the problems of each other on an equal basis. On that basis I feel we are doing good if we work out our bilateral issues, work out our new partnerships in areas we can share, like heritage, health and tourism.”