The Ministry of External Affairs of India has issued an official statement outlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka next week.
Issuing a statement, India’ External Affairs Ministry said that at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Bangkok, Thailand from 3 - 4 April 2025 to participate in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit to be held on 4 April 2025, hosted by Thailand, the current BIMSTEC Chair, and for an official visit.
This will be the Indian Prime Minister’s third visit to Thailand, the statement added.
Furthermore, the statement highlighted that this would be the first physical meeting of the BIMSTEC Leaders since the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2018. The last i.e. 5th BIMSTEC Summit was held at Colombo, Sri Lanka in March 2022 in virtual format. The 6th Summit’s theme is “BIMSTEC – Prosperous, Resilient and Open”.
The Leaders are expected to deliberate on ways and means to infuse greater momentum to BIMSTEC cooperation during the Summit, it added.
From Thailand, the Indian Prime Minister will travel to Sri Lanka on a State Visit from 4 – 6 April 2025, at the invitation of the President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
During the visit, the Indian Prime Minister will hold discussions with the President of Sri Lanka to review progress made on the areas of cooperation agreed upon in the Joint Vision for “Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future,” adopted during the Sri Lankan President’s state visit to India, the statement said.
Modi will also have meetings with senior dignitaries and political leaders. As part of the visit, the Indian Prime Minister will also travel to Anuradhapura for inauguration of development projects implemented with Indian financial assistance.
The Indian Prime Minister last visited Sri Lanka in 2019. Earlier, the President of Sri Lanka paid a state visit to India as his first visit abroad after assuming office. India and Sri Lanka share civilizational bonds with strong cultural and historic links. This visit is part of regular high level engagements between the countries and will lend further momentum in deepening the multi-faceted partnership between India and Sri Lanka, the Indian External Affairs Ministry said.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Thailand and Sri Lanka, and his participation in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit will reaffirm India’s commitment to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, ‘Act East’ policy, ‘MAHASAGAR’ (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision, and vision of the Indo-Pacific, the statement added.
