Kathmandu— Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP and former Union Minister, emphasized on Tuesday that relations with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are among the top priorities in India's neighborhood foreign policy. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Tharoor, heard views from Ministry of External Affairs representatives regarding India-Sri Lanka relations and is set to draft a report for submission to Parliament.

Committee Briefings

The committee has been actively engaged in discussions on India's relationship with Sri Lanka. Tharoor noted that the panel had received briefings from subject experts, including former diplomats to Sri Lanka, earlier this year and last year by the Foreign Secretary. These sessions covered a range of issues and updates on recent developments in the bilateral relationship.

Drafting Reports

Following these discussions, Tharoor announced that the committee will invite the Secretariat to draft a report which will then be agreed upon and submitted to Parliament. Four pending reports need to be drafted before meetings are held to adopt them.

Tharoor also mentioned that while Pakistan was not discussed in this session due to recent reporting on it, future sessions will address important developments regarding Pakistan as briefed by the Foreign Secretary.

(With inputs from ANI)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.