Sri Lankan Prez in 3-day visit to India from tomorrow
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will embark on a state visit to India from December 15 to 17, marking his first bilateral trip to the country since assuming office.
The visit will include meetings with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss bilateral issues of mutual interest, according to Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. President Dissanayake will also attend a business event in Delhi to strengthen investment and commercial ties and visit Bodh Gaya, a prominent Buddhist pilgrimage site.
The Indian High Commission in Colombo emphasised Sri Lanka’s significance as India’s closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), central to Prime Minister Modi’s ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policies.
During an earlier meeting in October with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, President Dissanayake assured, without naming China, that Sri Lanka would never allow its territory to be used in a way that threatens India’s security. India in the past had objected to Chinese spying ships and submarines docking at Colombo.
India has extended significant support to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, including a $61.5 million grant to modernise the Kankesanthurai port. India has conveyed its willingness to convert $20 million in payments for seven completed Line of Credit projects into a grant and has also decided to gift 22 diesel locomotives to Sri Lankan Railways.
Additionally, India provided $3.8 billion in aid during Sri Lanka’s 2022 financial crisis, surpassing the International Monetary Fund’s $3 billion bailout.
