Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Colombo on Friday evening on a three-day visit to explore ways to bolster overall bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka.
Five top ministers received him at the airport when he landed at 9 pm despite the rain, in a special welcome.
Among those present at the airport to welcome the prime minister were Sri Lanka’s foreign affairs minister Vijitha Herath, health and mass media minister Nalinda Jayatissa, labour minister Anil Jayantha, fisheries minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, minister of women and child affairs Saroja Savithri Paulraj and science and technology minister Chrishantha Abeysena.
“Landed in Colombo. Grateful to the ministers and dignitaries who welcomed me at the airport. Looking forward to the programs in Sri Lanka,” Modi wrote on X.
During his visit, Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on April 5.
Following the meeting, India and Sri Lanka are expected to come out with around 10 outcomes, including boosting cooperation in areas of defence, energy security and digitalisation.
The prime minister’s visit to Sri Lanka comes at a time when the island nation is showing signs of recovery from economic stress. Three years ago, the country was reeling from a massive economic crisis, and India extended financial assistance worth USD 4.5 billion.
The prime minister landed in the Sri Lankan capital after concluding his two-day trip to Bangkok, where he attended a summit of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).
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During his visit to Thailand, the prime minister also met Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Bangladesh’s chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay and Nepal’s PM KP Sharma Oli.
Modi also had an audience with Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana.
“We will have the opportunity to review progress made on the joint vision of ‘Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future’ and provide further guidance to realise our shared objectives,” Modi said on Thursday in a statement before embarking on the two-nation tour.
(Inputs from PTI)
