Sri Lankan fishermen to be freed

The Sri Lankan government said yesterday that it had decided to release 16 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture ahead of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India.

Wickremesinghe is to leave for India today and will meet his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, among others, during his visit. The Indian fishermen had been arrested while poaching in Sri Lankan waters.