Govt of India attaches highest priority to security, welfare of Indian fishermen: MoS Muraleedharan

The Government of India attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and welfare of Indian fishermen, said Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday.

Answering unstarred questions in Rajya Sabha on the surge in incidents of attacks on Tamil fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, the minister said, "There have been recent incidents of attacks on Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. As soon as reports of alleged attacks on Indian fishermen are received, the Government through diplomatic channels takes up the matter with the Government of Sri Lanka."

He said that issues relating to Indian fishermen have been raised at the highest levels, including by our Prime Minister with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister during the Virtual Bilateral Summit held in September 2020.

"In 2021, during his visit to Colombo from 5-7 January, External Affairs Minister (EAM) had met the Minister of Fisheries of Sri Lanka and discussed all issues related to Indian fishermen. The issue was also taken up in Foreign Secretary's discussions with the Sri Lankan dignitaries during his visit to Sri Lanka from 2-5 October 2021," said Muraleedharan.

In his reply, the minister said that the need to deal with issues pertaining to fishermen in a humanitarian manner was reiterated to the Government of Sri Lanka. It was also stressed that existing understandings between the two Governments in that regard must be strictly observed and both sides should ensure that there was no use of force under any circumstances.

"Government of India attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and welfare of Indian fishermen. Following the 2+2 initiative in November 2016, when the Foreign and Fisheries Ministers of the two countries met in New Delhi, a bilateral Joint Working Group (JWG) mechanism and meeting of the Ministers for Fisheries of the two countries was institutionalized to address the fishermen issues with Sri Lanka," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )