Rajapaksa visit begins today; trade, defence on agenda

Colombo, February 6

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will undertake a four-day state visit to India from Friday and hold talks on a number of key areas, including trade, defence and maritime security cooperation. The visit will be Rajapaksa senior’s first overseas visit since his brother Gotabaya was elected President in November.

He will hold meetings with President Ram Nath Kovind, PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. “The scheduled meetings will build on the strong relationship that already exists between the two countries,” Mahinda’s office said.

Mahinda hopes to finalise the implementation of the $450 million line of credit pledged by the PM to President Gotabaya during his visit to New Delhi in November, according to the statement.

“With the aim of enhancing engagement in sub-regional maritime security cooperation, the two delegations are expected to discuss key areas under the defence and maritime security initiatives that include the Sri Lanka-India annual defence dialogue and the trilateral maritime security cooperation with India and the Maldives,” it said.

Rajapaksa also intends to visit the religious sites of Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodhgaya and Tirupathi, it said. — PTI