India, Sri Lanka to resume ferry link soon

India and Sri Lanka would be resuming ferry connectivity between Kochi and Colombo ‘shortly,’ it was announced here at the conclusion of the Second Meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Ministers of Transport.

A statement by the Indian High Commission said here that the ferry service would be one of the key connecting links in strengthening trade, social and cultural interaction between the people of the SAARC Member States and to this end, air connectivity between New Delhi & Male would be operationalised as well.

R.P.N. Singh, Union Minister of State for Road, Transport and Railways led the Indian delegation and participated in the Ministerial discussions.

“With the multimodal study extending to Afghanistan, the corridors connecting Afghanistan to other SAARC Member States were also identified. The Indian proposal for running of a demonstration train from Pakistan to Bangladesh via India and Nepal, as a visible manifestation of intra-regional connectivity was welcomed by the SAARC Member States.

“The SAARC Transport Ministers agreed that the objective of providing connectivity is not just about upgrading transport links but to unite the hearts and minds of the people of South Asia,” it said.