“Talks will be held tomorrow in Colombo at 9.30 am,” Narendra Rajapakse, spokesman of the Fisheries Ministry Narendra Rajapaksa told ‘Asian Mirror’. 

“We have informed Tamil Nadu representatives of the discussion. They have been contacted through the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai. They have sent us a name-list of representatives taking part in the discussion. Talks will go ahead as planned,” he said.

However, the Tamil Nadu state government has categorically told the Indian Central government that the second round of talks between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan fishermen could take place in Colombo on Thursday (March 13), only after the release of 177 Tamil Nadu fishermen and their 44 boats currently in Sri Lankan custody.

In a letter to Suchitra Durai, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, S. Vijayakumar, secretary, Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department, said that in his previous letter on March 2, he had categorically asserted that the Colombo talks were subject to the release of the Tamil Nadu fishermen and their boats in Sri Lankan custody.

 The Fisheries Ministry of Sri Lanka asserts that there was no initial agreement to release all fishermen before the second round of talks.