Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to travel to India for state visit from Sunday

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Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will be on a state visit to India from December 15-17, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. According to news agency ANI, during his visit, Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While addressing a weekly media briefing on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that it will be President Dissanayake's first visit to India after the recently concluded presidential and parliamentary polls in Sri Lanka. Jaiswal also informed that Dissanayake will participate in a business event in Delhi.

"The President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Anura Kumara Dissanayake, will visit India on a state visit on 15-17 December, 2024. This will be the first visit of President Dissanayake to India after the recently concluded presidential and parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka. During the visit, President of Sri Lanka will meet Rashtrapatiji and also hold discussions with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest," Jaiswal said, according to ANI.

"President of Sri Lanka will be participating in a business event in Delhi. He will also visit Bodh Gaya. The visit of President Dissanayake to India shall further strengthen the multi-faceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries," he added.

In a press release, MEA said that Sri Lanka is India's closest maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a central place in Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy.

Earlier in October, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on President Dissanayake in Colombo. The two leaders discussed ways to deepen cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties to benefit the people of India and Sri Lanka, ANI reported.

A month before that, PM Modi extended his regards to Dissanayake and congratulated him for his win in the Sri Lankan Presidential election. Congratulating Dissanayake, PM Modi said that the island country holds a special place in India's Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision SAGAR.

Fifty-five-year-old Dissanayake, of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna party, was declared the winner of the election in Sri Lanka in September.

(With ANI inputs)