NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka’s new foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera met his Indian counterpart in New Delhi on Sunday during a visit to improve strained ties after elections in the island toppled longtime strongman Mahinda Rajapakse.

Relations suffered under Rajapakse who cultivated close links with China which in turn invested heavily in Sri Lanka to try to counter regional rival India.

The former president also ignored Indian calls to address allegations that Sri Lankan troops killed some 40,000 civilians during the final stages of a campaign to wipe out Tamil Tiger guerrillas in 2009.

Samaraweera, making the first overseas trip since his appointment, told Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj before talks began that a “visit within five days of being sworn in reflects our priorities”.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin described the discussions between two ministers as “extremely cordial, positive and substantive”.

The ministers discussed a range of issues including closer economic cooperation, frequent fishing disputes and Indian concerns about the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils, many of whom moved to India as refugees during the civil war.

Published in Dawn January 19th , 2015

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