President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday (Sept. 13) exchanged greetings with the Chief Minister of India’s West Bengal Mamata Banerjee at the Dubai International Airport.

The Sri Lankan leader, who was on his way to Havana, Cuba to attend the G77+China Leaders’ Summit, ran into the Indian political party Trinamool Congress’ chairwoman, who is on a 12-day trip to Dubai and Spain, at the airport and the duo engaged in a brief yet cordial conversation.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Banerjee said “His Excellency The President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe saw me at the Dubai International Airport Lounge and called me to join for some discussion.”

Humbled by President Wickremesinghe’s greetings, Banerjee has invited him to attend the Bengal Global Business Summit 2023, scheduled to take place in Kolkata in November.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan leader has extended a cordial invitation to the Bengal chief minister to visit the island nation.

“It was a pleasant interaction with deep implications,” Banerjee said further in the post.

During their conversation, President Wickremesinghe has also asked the Bengal chief minister if she would be leading the opposition alliance, INDIA, to which Banerjee responded, “It depends on the people.” She added, “We can be in a position [to come to power] if the people support us.”

‘INDIA’, which stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, thus far comprises 26 opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress. It is led by the Indian National Congress party which once dominated the country’s political arena.

-with inputs from agencies

His Excellency The President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe saw me at the Dubai International Airport Lounge and called me to join for some discussion. I have been humbled by his greetings and invited him to the Bengal Global Business Summit 2023 in Kolkata. HE the President… pic.twitter.com/14OgsYjZgF

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 13, 2023