Sri Lanka’s new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to visit India later this month, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said after meeting the Sri Lankan President this evening in Colombo.
On Sunday, PM Modi had invited Mr Rajapaksa to visit India as his first official foreign tour.
Mr Rajapaksa will visit India on November 29, Mr Jaishankar tweeted.
The Indian foreign minister arrived in Colombo on an unannounced visit as part of India’s outreach to the new Sri Lankan President, and said he was “confident that under Mr Rajapaksa’s leadership, India-Sri Lanka relations would reach greater heights.”
“A warm meeting with Sri Lanka President @GotabayaR. Conveyed PM @narendramodi’s message of a partnership for shared peace, progress, prosperity & security. Confident that under his leadership, #IndiaSriLanka relations would reach greater heights,” the foreign minister tweeted.
On Monday, in a measured speech after taking oath, Mr Rajapaksa had said that Sri Lanka will maintain friendly ties with all nations and remain neutral in matters involving international powers so as to stay out of conflicts.
-Agencies
A warm meeting with Sri Lanka President @GotabayaR. Conveyed PM @narendramodi’s message of a partnership for shared peace, progress, prosperity & security. Confident that under his leadership, #IndiaSriLanka relations would reach greater heights. pic.twitter.com/pDxZf0ZM3A
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 19, 2019
