The Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. S. Jaishankar while concluding his official visit to Sri Lanka on Thursday (20) said that India will always be a reliable friend and a ‘dependable partner’ for Sri Lanka.
Posting on ‘X’, Dr. S. Jaishankar noted: “Concluded a productive visit to Sri Lanka, my first in this new term. We will always be a reliable friend and a dependable partner for our Sri Lankan friends.”
The Indian External Minister, who arrived on the island on Thursday morning, called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and engaged in a one-on-one meeting.
During this meeting three milestones in Indo-Sri Lanka relations were achieved as President Wickremesinghe and the visiting Indian External Affairs Minister jointly unveiled the virtual plaque for 106 houses in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Matale under the Indian Housing Project. Meanwhile, 24 houses in each model village in Colombo and Trincomalee were also handed over virtually.
The Indian Foreign Minister and the Sri Lankan President also unveiled the virtual plaque to mark the formal commissioning of the “Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC)” in Sri Lanka under a USD 06 million grant from India. This includes a centre at Navy Headquarters in Colombo, a sub-centre in Hambantota and unmanned installations at Galle, Arugambay, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Kallarawa, Point Pedro and Mollikulam.
Dr. Jaishankar later called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at Temple Trees in Colombo and assured that neighbours like Sri Lanka are extremely important to India and there is tremendous goodwill for Sri Lanka in India.
He said the Indian government reaffirms the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and the main purpose of his visit is to underline India’s continued commitment to Sri Lanka as its closest maritime neighbour and time tested friend.
The Prime Minister and the Minister Jaishankar discussed Indian investments, development projects, connectivity projects and other mutually beneficial cooperation in different spheres.
Moreover, the Indian Foreign Minister had also interacted with leadership of Indian Origin Tamils, Minister Jeevan Thondaman. The meeting was participated by A. Aravindh Kumar, M Rameshwaran, V. Radhakrishnan, Velu Kumar, Udayakumar and Vadivel Suresh as well.
Taking to ‘X’, Jaishankar stated that they discussed the development partnership between India and Sri Lanka, and further cooperation in respect of Indian Origin Tamils.
Additionally, the Indian Foreign Minister also met a group of opposition MPs including Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, G.L .Peiris, Eran Wickremaratne, Niroshan Perera, Palini Thigambaram, Rauff Hakeem and V Radhakrishnan.
Before the conclusion of his official visit, Jaishankar had a discussion with his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry covering further prospects in capacity building and shared engagement.
“Also exchanged perspectives of greater multilateral cooperation, especially in BIMSTEC, IORA and the UN”, Minister Jaishankar added.
