Kushinagar International Airport

In Context 

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport. 

About

• The Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh is the latest entrant in India’s list of international Airports. 
• The airport is expected to provide seamless connectivity to people from Southeast and East Asian countries for Buddhist Pilgrimage Tourism.
• Kushinagar is the centre of the Buddhist circuit, which consists of pilgrimage sites at Lumbini, Sarnath, Gaya and others.

Kushinagar Airport

• The inauguration of Kushinagar International airport is set to be a landmark in India-Sri Lanka relations.
• Expected outcomes: 
  • It will facilitate pilgrims from across different parts of the world by providing seamless connectivity to various Buddhist sites in the region. 
    • The airport is expected to provide seamless connectivity to tourists from Sri Lanka, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, etc. 
  • It will have a multiplier effect on the hospitality industry by promoting hotel business, tourism agencies, restaurants etc. 
  • It will create employment for local people by opening an immense amount of opportunities in feeder transport services, local guide jobs etc.
  • This will also boost the opportunities for the export of horticultural products like bananas, strawberries and mushrooms.

India and Sri Lanka Bilateral Relations 

• Historical: India and Sri Lanka have a legacy of intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic interaction and the relationship between the two countries is more than 2500 years old. 
  • Trade and investment have grown and there is cooperation in the fields of development, education, culture and defence. 

• Commercial Relations: India and Sri Lanka enjoy a vibrant and growing economic and commercial partnership, which has witnessed considerable expansion over the years. 
  • The entry into force of the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) in 2000 contributed significantly towards the expansion of trade between the two countries. 
  • India has traditionally been among Sri Lanka’s largest trade partners and Sri Lanka remains among the largest trade partners of India in the SAARC. 
  • In 2020, India was Sri Lanka’s 2nd largest trading partner with the bilateral merchandise trade amounting to about USD $ 3.6 billion. 
  • In addition to being Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner, India is also one of the largest contributors to Foreign Direct Investment in Sri Lanka. 

• Development Cooperation: Sri Lanka is one of India’s major development partners and this partnership has been an important pillar of bilateral ties between the two countries over the years. 
  • The Indian Housing Project: It is a flagship project of the Government of India. 
    • India is providing developmental assistance to Sri Lanka in the form of 50,000 houses.
• Projects under Lines of Credit: 11 Lines of credit (LOC) have been extended to Sri Lanka by the Export-Import Bank of India in the last 15 years. Important sectors in which Projects have been executed/ are under execution, under these LOCs include Railway, transport, connectivity, defence, solar. 
• Currency Swap Agreements: RBI had signed an agreement for extending a USD 400 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka. 

• It is expected to boost the foreign reserves and ensure the financial stability of the country, which was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Cultural relations: India and Sri Lanka have a shared legacy of historical, cultural, religious, spiritual and linguistic ties that is more than 2,500 years old.
  • In contemporary times, the Cultural Cooperation Agreement signed by the Government of India and the Government of Sri Lanka on 29 November 1977 at New Delhi forms the basis for periodic Cultural Exchange Programmes between the two countries. 

• Buddhism is one of the strongest pillars connecting the two nations and civilizations from the time when the Great Indian Emperor Ashoka sent his children, Arahat Mahinda and Their Sangamitta to spread the teachings of Lord Buddha at the request of King DevanampiyaTissa of Sri Lanka.

• Tourism: Tourism also forms an important link between India and Sri Lanka.

• The government of India formally launched the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme for Sri Lankan tourists on 14 April 2015. 

• Fishermen issue

• Given the proximity of the territorial waters of both countries, especially in the Palk Straits and the Gulf of Mannar, incidents of straying of fishermen are common. 
• Both countries have agreed on certain practical arrangements to deal with the issue of bona fide fishermen of either side inadvertently crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line. 
• India and Sri Lanka have agreed to set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Fisheries between the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India and Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development of Sri Lanka as the mechanism to help find a permanent solution to the fishermen issue.

• Indian Community: The People of Indian Origin (PIOs) comprise Sindhis, Borahs, Gujaratis, Memons, Parsis, Malayalis and Telugu speaking persons who have settled down in Sri Lanka (most of them after partition) and are engaged in various business ventures. 

• Joint Exercises:
  • Joint Military Exercise: Mitra Shakti 
  • Naval exercise: SLINEX

Source: TH