President Maithripala Sirisena extended his best wishes to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of India successfully launching a new communications satellite, which can be utilized by the member countries of SAARC including Sri Lanka, the PMD reported.

The President congratulated the Indian Prime Minister via satellite technology from the President’s House in Anuradhapura and said that this is a historic milestone to accomplish progress on cooperation and development among the SAARC countries.

The President also appreciated the commitment by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen the relationship between the SAARC countries, the President’s Media Division said.

The South Asia Satellite is a geosynchronous communications and meteorology satellite by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation region. The satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh today.

It will help to meet the growing telecommunications and broadcasting needs of the region. The satellite will provide, among other things, communication channels for better coordination during disaster management. It will also help countries in mapping terrain and natural resources.

President Sirisena said as this will be networked with all SAARC countries,and Sri Lanka as a partner in this effort, can benefit from this satellite to develop infrastructure facilities in a more successful manner and said that he believed this satellite would help to uplift the economic and social standard of the people.