Sri Lanka, April 7 -- Lakshman Kadirgamar once described India-Sri Lanka relations as one of "irreversible excellence." Unfortunately, under some governments, they have been neither irreversible nor excellent. In particular, past insensitivity to India's security concerns has strained relations. That lesson, however, has now been well learnt-and is unlikely to be repeated in the foreseeable future; certainly not by the current government.

Today, Sri Lanka's chief concern is economic. It is in economic relations that our "irreversible excellence" should have run deepest. This was often acknowledged but rarely acted upon. In 2016, Mangala Samaraweera called Indo-Lanka relations in the 21st century a "Tryst with Opportunity," urging us to t...