The Indian vice president and Sri Lankan president held talks on Sunday

India and Sri Lanka have held talks on setting up an oil pipeline connecting the two South Asian nations.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the discussions on Sunday between Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also touched on bilateral ties, housing projects, and issues concerning the fishing industry of the two countries.

"Some initiatives that are underway from the Indian side and some proposals that have already been discussed between the two countries, notable amongst them, the project related to the energy hub in Trincomalee and the proposal to link India and Sri Lanka through an oil pipeline," Misri said on Sunday.

Discussions on the oil pipeline project, which also involves the United Arab Emirates, have been ongoing since 2023, Misri added.

Sri Lanka, India, and the UAE signed a pact in April 2025 to set up an oil pipeline connecting the two South Asian neighbors and to establish the Trincomalee oil storage complex. The pact provides for the development of an energy hub by India and the UAE.

Misri pointed out the importance of the discussions at a time when the world "is facing the fallout of an energy crisis."

Radhakrishnan's two-day visit is the first ever by an Indian vice president to Sri Lanka.

Dissanayake highlighted India'sfirst-responder roleduring Sri Lanka's economic crisis in 2022 and, more recently, after Cyclone Ditwah last year.

Radhakrishnan discussed the ongoing implementation of Indian projects in Sri Lanka with an emphasis on the $450 million Cyclone Ditwah aid offered by New Delhi.

During the India-Sri Lanka talks, the digital ID project and the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) were also discussed, Misri said.

Various memoranda of understanding are also slated to be exchanged during Radhakrishnan's visit, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

(RT.com)