Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday welcomed an assurance from India on Katchatheevu Island, and repeated that Sri Lanka will not allow its territory to be used against India.
India’s Attorney General R. Venkataramani told the Supreme Court of India on 6 October that New Delhi has no intention of reopening the 1974 and 1976 maritime agreements with Sri Lanka, the Indian government’s position in the case.
The Indian government also told the court that concerns about Indian fishermen would continue to be handled through diplomatic channels. The court said it was important to stop Indian fishermen from crossing into Sri Lankan waters.
President Dissanayake described the position as a positive sign for relations between the two neighbours. He gave a similar assurance on Sri Lankan territory to Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in September.
For Sri Lankan fishing communities in the north, the status of the island and the waters around it affects daily livelihoods.
The legal challenges to the agreements remain pending, with further hearings scheduled for February 2027.
