Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will reach New Delhi this evening on a five -day official visit to India. He is leading a ten-member high level delegation including two Cabinet Ministers. Mr. Rajapaksa will have bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ramnath Kovind while External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will call on him tomorrow.
This is the third major visit from Sri Lanka after new government under President Gotabaya Rajapksa took over last November and shows the significance of bilateral relations between the two neighbours. Earlier, President Rajapaksa made his maiden foreign visit to India soon after being sworn in November while Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena visited last month.
A host of issues including economic cooperation, maritime security in Indian ocean region, trade and connectivity along with skill development for Sri Lankan officials will come up for discussion during delegation-level meetings. Sri Lanka has proposed air connectivity to Buddhist heritage city of Sanchi and the same may be announced during the visit. Sri Lankan PM will also visit Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya and Tirupati during his five-day stay.
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