New Delhi: India and Sri Lanka on Friday reiterated their support for — and commitment to — the embattled peace process in the island nation and agreed that an enduring solution to the country's problems could emerge "only through internal political processes that promote consensus and reconciliation".

A joint statement which seeks to catalyse a broader economic relationship between the two countries, issued at the conclusion of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's visit to Delhi, said the two nations agreed that the environmental implications of the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project had to be studied and monitored and action taken to mitigate them if any.

Noting that "a positive collaborative relationship was being established for the study and monitoring of the environmental implications of the project," Mr. Rajapakse and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "endorsed that the outcome of the collaboration must be to reach a common understanding as to whether there are environmental consequences and if so, the action to be taken to mitigate them". Accordingly, technical experts from both countries have been asked to continue their interaction, the statement said.

This formulation on the controversial project -- which Colombo feels might have harmful effects, inter alia, on wave patterns and fish stocks -- attempts to operationalise an earlier commitment made by Dr Manmohan Singh to the then Sri Lankan president, Chandrika Kumaratunge, on her last visit to New Delhi in September, that India would be prepared to modify the project if studies established the possibility of negative ecological consequences.

In addition to the Sethusamudram project, which is a key concern of the Sri Lanka, the joint statement lays out a number of India's commitments towards the development of infrastructure in the island nation .

Top among these is an ambitious plan for a number of joint ventures for the development of the eastern Sri Lankan port city of Trincomalee and its surrounding region. The two leaders noted the need to prepare a master plan for realising the full potential of the proposed bilateral projects.

As a first step, a 500 MW thermal power project would be launched as a joint venture between the National Thermal Power Company of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board. In addition, India said it was prepared to consider additional concessions and credit for the development of the Colombo-Matara rail line beyond the $100 million credit line already committed.

On the political front, Mr. Rajapakse briefed the Indian leadership on his approach to the peace process and his aim of achieving "maximum devolution which preserves the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka". India, on its part, "reiterated its support for a process of seeking a negotiated political settlement acceptable to all sections of Sri Lankan society within the framework of an undivided Sri Lanka and consistent with democracy, pluralism and respect for human rights".

Both countries deplored the recent violations of the ceasefire and said these "could undermine the prospects for peace in Sri Lanka".

Among the other economic projects, India offered to support Sri Lanka's efforts to reconstruct and develop the North and East of the country through technical and financial assistance and will assist in the construction of a library and stadium in Jaffna as a first step. New Delhi also said it had initiated action to prepare a detailed project report on the rehabilitation of the tsunami-damaged Base Hospital in Trincomalee.

Other Indian initiatives include collaborating with Sri Lanka in setting up an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Park in that country and construction of a new 150-bed hospital at Dickoya in the central province.

In the field of human resources development, it was decided that the Joint Working Group under the India-Sri Lanka MoU on the Education Exchange Programme would be operationalised at the earliest possible. Several measures funded by India to enhance cooperation in the field of education and training were also agreed upon.

These include the Mahatma Gandhi scholarship scheme for 100 deserving Sri Lankan students every year, upgrading of libraries and science laboratories in upcountry areas, setting up of Chair in Contemporary Indian studies in Peradeniya University and commissioning of a field study on vocational training centres.

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