“Concluded a productive go to to Sri Lanka”, S Jaishankar acknowledged in a a submit on X.

Colombo:

 Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has concluded his one-day official go to to Sri Lanka. He mentioned that India will at all times be a “dependable good friend and a reliable companion” for Sri Lanka. He additionally shared a video of glimpses of his go to to Sri Lanka.

In a submit on X, Mr Jaishankar acknowledged, “Concluded a productive go to to Sri Lanka, my first on this new time period. We’ll at all times be a dependable good friend and a reliable companion for our Sri Lankan buddies.”

His go to underscores the central place that Sri Lanka occupies in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Coverage and SAGAR Imaginative and prescient, based on the Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) press launch.

In a press launch, the MEA acknowledged, “The go to of the Exterior Affairs Minister underscores the central place Sri Lanka occupies in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Coverage and SAGAR Imaginative and prescient. Following Sri Lanka’s financial restoration and stabilization, forging deeper long-term financial cooperation was underlined as a precedence for sustainable and equitable progress of Sri Lanka, and mutual prosperity within the Indian Ocean Area.”

It was S Jaishankar’s first bilateral go to as Exterior Affairs Minister after his re-appointment. His go to to Colombo comes after Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s latest go to to India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 9.

Throughout his go to, Mr Jaishankar referred to as on Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. Wickremesinghe acquired him on the President’s Workplace in a one-on-one assembly, adopted by delegation-level talks that included Sri Lanka’s Minister of Ports, Transport and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Overseas Affairs Ali Sabry and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Energy and Power, Kanchana Wijesekera.

Mr Jaishankar additionally held conferences along with his counterpart, Overseas Minister Ali Sabry. Mr Jaishankar and Wickremesinghe collectively handed over 48 homes below the Mannequin Village Housing Mission within the Colombo and Trincomalee districts; and 106 homes below Part III of the Indian Housing Mission within the Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya districts. Within the press launch, MEA famous, “Within the latest previous, EAM visited Sri Lanka 4 occasions in January 2021, March 2022, January 2023 and October 2023.”

MEA acknowledged, “In a testomony to the excellent and people-centric nature of India-Sri Lanka improvement cooperation, President Wickremesinghe and EAM collectively handed over 48 homes below Mannequin Village Housing Mission in Colombo and Trincomalee districts; 106 homes below Part III of the Indian Housing Mission in Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya Districts. Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), a nerve centre for Search and Rescue operations at sea established with an Indian grant of USD 6 million was additionally collectively commissioned within the digital ceremony.”

Relating to the discussions held between the Sri Lankan authorities’s management and Mr Jaishankar, MEA acknowledged, “Interplay of EAM with the management of the Authorities of Sri Lanka supplied a possibility to overview and speed up progress within the multifaceted India-Sri Lanka partnership. One of many key focus areas of dialogue was the Imaginative and prescient Doc adopted by President Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the course of the former’s go to to India in July 2023.”

“Discussions added momentum to the continuing initiatives in addition to initiatives for selling connectivity in all its dimensions, significantly in domains of vitality, bodily infrastructure in addition to financial and people-to-people ties,” it added.

Throughout his go to, Mr Jaishankar additionally held separate conferences with Sri Lanka’s former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Chief of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, and leaders of the varied political events from the North, East and the upcountry area.

Sharing particulars relating to his assembly with Sajith Premadasa, he acknowledged, “Good to satisfy chief of opposition @sajithpremadasa and his delegation throughout my Sri Lanka go to. Thank GL Peiris, @EranWick, Niroshan Perera, Palini Thigambaram @Rauff_Hakeem and V Radhakrishnan for becoming a member of. Admire the bipartisan assist for stronger India-Sri Lanka relationship. An insightful dialogue on making our partnership much more strong.”

Mr Jaishankar and Mahinda Rajapaksa mentioned the present progress of bilateral cooperation between the 2 nations.

Taking to X, Mr Jaishankar acknowledged, “Glad to name on former President @PresRajapaksa

of Sri Lanka. Mentioned the present progress of India-Sri Lanka bilateral cooperation. Admire his continued assist.”

In a press launch, MEA acknowledged, “Throughout occasion strains, a stronger India-Sri Lanka partnership was seen as helpful for continued progress and prosperity of the peoples of each international locations.”

Mr Jaishankar additionally interacted with the management of Indian-origin Tamils. After the assembly, EAM in a submit on X wrote, “Interacted with management of Indian Origin Tamils. Thank @S_Thondaman, @JeevanThondaman, A. Aravindh Kumar, M Rameshwaran, V. Radhakrishnan, Velu Kumar, Udayakumar and Vadivel Suresh for becoming a member of. Mentioned our improvement partnership and additional cooperation in respect of IOTs.”

Concluded a productive go to to Sri Lanka, my first on this new time period.

We’ll at all times be a dependable good friend and a reliable companion for our Sri Lankan buddies. 🇮🇳 🇱🇰

Here is a quick look: pic.twitter.com/3Pe2TExE51

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 20, 2024

Throughout his go to, Mr Jaishankar additionally met an 8-member delegation of Tamil leaders from northern and japanese provinces.

Relating to his dialogue with Tamil leaders, Jaishankar acknowledged, “Good assembly with 8 member delegation of Tamil Leaders from Northern and Japanese Provinces. Thank @ShanakiyanR, @Mavai_S, @MASumanthiran, @ImShritharan, @SAdaikalanathan, Dharmalingam Sithadthan, @CWigneswaran and @skajendren for becoming a member of. Mentioned points pertaining to improvement & devolution of their provinces.”

(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)