The visits of the Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and the setting up of schedules for the resumption of the composite dialogue process with Pakistan testify to the importance the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government attaches to the vigorous pursuit of foreign policy initiatives. Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar of Sri Lanka, the first Foreign Minister to visit the country after the change of government, briefed the External Affairs Minister Mr. Natwar Singh, and other Indian leaders about status of the peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). India's reservations about dealing with the LTTE would not prevent New Delhi from playing a role in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the island's war-torn areas. Mr. Kardirgamar has said that a significant body of opinion in Sri Lanka wants India to play a role in the peace process and reaching a final solution.

The Indian role in this respect, however, might be mainly confined to reconstruction and humanitarian work. Sri Lanka has been assured that India is committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the unity of the island nation in a federal system. About the progress of defence cooperation with Sri Lanka, Mr. Singh sought to allay Sri Lankan fears that the DMK being a part of the ruling alliance would pose any problems in this respect. The visit of Bangladesh Foreign Minster, Mr. Morshed Khan, was marked by a comprehensive review of the bilateral relations with India.

At a joint press conference with visiting minister, Mr. Singh said their discussions covered "all issues”. These included tariffs, the transit question and the activities of anti-Indian insurgent groups having sanctuaries across the Bangladesh border. The future of India-Bangladesh relations, Mr. Singh said, "should not lie in the past. We have to go ahead. We are living in the 21ist century.” The schedule of the Bangladesh Minister included calls on the Congress President, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Petroleum Minister, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar. Mr Natwar Singh said his discussions with Mr. Khan were marked by cordiality, warmth and mutual understanding. The Bangladesh Foreign Minister stated that he had avoided raising the sensitive river issue "intentionally” as the proposed interlinking of rivers in India, which figures in the Common Minimum Programme was a trans-national issue.

On the question of curbing cross-border movement of insurgents, he-had exchanged notes with his counterpart. "We are doing the right thing”, he remarked. Bangladesh has not made any commitment about selling gas or allowing use of its territory for the laying of a pipeline for the supply of Myanmar gas to India. New Delhi, however, has offered to supply 60,000 tonnes of diesel a month to Bangladesh from next year. "We are looking at the potential for larger cooperation with India”, in this respect "as our requirement of diesel is going up”, Mr. Khan stated after his meeting with Mr. Aiyar. In the background of past differences on bilateral issues, Mr. Singh said it had been agreed that "if any mishap (in relations)” crops up, the two sides would talk to each other and not allow it to have an adverse impact on their friendly relations.