New York: With incidents of Indian fishermen being targeted allegedly by Sri Lankan navy in Palk Straits on the rise, India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly evolve a mechanism to resolve the issue.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogama, who discussed a wide range of subjects during their meeting here yesterday, agreed to task their relevant departments to evolve the mechanism.

Officials said that Mukherjee had expressed concern over incidents of Sri Lankan navy targeting Indian fishermen for allegedly crossing the maritime boundary between the two countries.

The two also discussed the situation in Sri Lanka in the context of the provincial elections but no further details were available.

Mukherjee also called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and discussed various global issues including climate change and food security.

Ban, officials said, expressed appreciation for India's long standing and consistent support for the UN peacekeeping operations. India is one of the leading contributors of peace-keeping troop.

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