Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa arrives in India on five-day visit

Colombo, February 7

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived here on Friday on a five-day visit during which he will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to explore ways to further boost bilateral ties.

After his official engagement in Delhi, Rajapaksa will travel to Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya and Tirupati.

A host of issues, including fulfilling the aspirations of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, the situation in the Indian Ocean Region and ways to boost defence and trade ties, are expected to figure in the talks between Modi and the Sri Lankan prime minister.

He will have meetings with President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister 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 in a statement on Thursday.

Mahinda hopes to finalise the implementation of the USD 450 million line of credit pledged by Prime Minister Modi to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa 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.

Two Tamil ministers in the Rajapaksa government—Douglas Devananda from the north and Armugam Thondaman from the central tea plantation districts—are expected to be in the 10-member delegation, the statement added. — PTI