External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday discussed with her Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera the possibility of resuming ferry services between the two countries.However, the Foreign Ministers did not discuss the fisheries issue. “Not a word about it,” Sri Lankan Foreign Minister told The Hindu soon after his meeting with Ms. Swaraj, but officials said the subject was likely to be discussed at her lunch meeting with Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.In addition to discussing agreements to be inked during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit, the leaders discussed the possible resumption of ferry services in detail. India and Sri Lanka are very keen to resume the services at the earliest, Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry spokesman A.M.J. Sadiq told reporters after the bilateral meeting between the Ministers Friday morning.The service between Colombo and Tuticorin was operational in 2011 but had to be suspended as it was not found to be commercially viable. The ferry service between Rameswaram and Thalaimannar came to a halt in the 1980s, during the war. “The piers at both sides have to be repaired before resumption of the service,” he said.
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