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Sri Lanka committed to strengthening ties with India

Xinhua, March 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has informed the visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that his government was committed to strengthening its ties with India and was looking forward to a visit by the Indian Prime Minister next week, a Foreign Ministry official said on Saturday.

Swaraj arrived in the country on Friday for a two-day official visit to the island nation to pave the way for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on March 13.

The visiting Indian minister said that the past year had been remarkable in the history of both Sri Lanka and India and the people in both the countries had voted for change. "This has brought new momentum to the bilateral relationship," she added.

She said that Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera was kind enough to accept her invitation to visit India within a week after the new government was sworn-in and they had a very useful interaction in New Delhi on Jan. 18.

President Maithripala Sirisena also visited India from Feb. 15 to 18 and the two countries signed four agreements and MoUs.

Swaraj is expected to meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Samaraweera for formal discussions on Saturday before she concludes her visit.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on a three day official tour on March 13, which will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister since Rajiv Gandhi visited the island in 1987 to sign the Indo-Lanka Accord.

He is expected to visit the north of the island, the ancient city of Anuradhapura, and the tourist city of Kandy during his trip. Endi