A total of 91 fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and fishing in Sri Lankan waters, but all of them have been released and repatriated following sustained diplomatic efforts, the Rajya Sabha was told today. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, answering questions in the House, said that currently, there are no Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody. He also said the Government of India attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and welfare of Indian fishermen. 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. 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, he said. This year, during his visit to Colombo from January 5-7, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar 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 in October. 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. 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. On December 30, 2020, the 4th Round of the JWG was organized between the two governments where the entire gamut of issues related to fishermen was discussed. Both sides are in consultation for the early convening of the 5th Round of JWG on Fisheries, he said.