NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday to review the status of bilateral relations.The meeting was part of the regular and ongoing dialogue between the two sides, according to a statement from Sri Lanka’s High Commission in New Delhi.Moragoda met Doval at his office and the discussions “centered on a comprehensive review of the status of the relations between India and Sri Lanka”, the statement said. “Priority areas for future cooperation were also discussed,” it added.Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri and Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner Niluka Kadurugamuwa participated in the meeting.This was the Sri Lankan envoy’s first meeting with a top Indian official after the visit of a Chinese research vessel with extensive surveillance capabilities to the Chinese-controlled Hambantota Port cast a shadow on relations between the two countries .
On September 12, India expressed concern at the “lack of measurable progress” by the Sri Lankan government on its commitments regarding a political solution to the ethnic issue involving the island nation’s Tamil minority during a dialogue on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ latest report on Sri Lanka.However, Moragoda told the Hindustani Times in an interview last month that India is the anchor of regional security and Colombo and New Delhi need to develop a framework to deal with issues such as the Chinese research vessel’s visit to Hambantota.