India - Sri Lanka: forging closer economic ties.

At a recent interaction with Foreign Correspondents at his Temple Trees residence, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was asked about Indian investment in Sri Lanka. aoeIndia?,a he asked, and added: aoeIndian investment is the largest here. They are everywhere.all over Sri Lanka.a

A look around, after landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, will lend credence to this assertion. Outside, one can find autorickshaws, (name here is three wheeler), Ashok Leyland and Tata buses and other Tata vehicles, Mahindra jeeps and vehicles, a Taj Hotel on the way from the airport to the city, Indianoil petrol pumps, advertisements for AirTel, Banks such as IOB, State Bank of India, Indian Bank, ICICI, HDFC, shops selling Indian sarees. as The President noted, India is everywhere. Of the top Indian 45 companies here, 42 have Indian CEOs.

Oil prospecting in the Mannar basin is being carried out by the Indian subsidiary of a British firm, Cairn India. CEAT tyres have established a factory here, while Apollo is giving a major push for its range of tyres. LIC, Bharat Petroleum, Asian Paints.all have a presence here.

The largest Indian-assisted project abroad, the construction of multiple Railway lines in Sri Lanka, is handled by IRCON, the Indian public sector construction …