PM HOLDS TALKS WITH SRI LANKAN COUNTERPART
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe held talks on Saturday. The two discussed ways to deepen the “historically close” relations between the countries. The external affairs ministry said the two leaders exchanged views on regional and global issues during their meeting on the third and final day of the Sri Lankan leader's visit. During the talks, Modi and Wickremesinghe reviewed the progress in implementation of various decisions taken during the high level exchanges in the recent past, including Modi's visit to Sri Lanka in May 2017.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe held talks on Saturday on ways to deepen the “historically close” relations between the two countries and reviewed the progress of India-assisted development projects in the island nation.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues during their meeting on the third and final day of the Sri Lankan leader’s visit here.
Modi and Wickremesinghe reviewed the progress in implementation of various decisions taken during the high-level exchanges in the recent past, including Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in May 2017.
“This multi-faceted partnership has been marked by close contacts at the highest political level, growing trade and investment, wide ranging development cooperation, increasing linkages in the fields of education, health, infrastructure, connectivity and capacity building and broadening people to people contacts,” the MEA said after delegation-level talks between the two leaders.
“Delighted to meet PM Ranil Wickremesinghe in Delhi today. We had fruitful discussions, reviewing various aspects of India-Sri Lanka cooperation,” Modi tweeted.
Key decisions taken in stepping up bilateral cooperation during Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka in May 2017 for the International Vesak Day celebrations, Sri Lankan prime minister’s visit to India in April and November last year, and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit for the International Solar Alliance founding conference in March this year, were discussed during the meeting.
The issue of India taking charge of operating Sri Lanka’s loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport was also understood to have figured in the talks. Earlier in the day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, also separately called on the visiting Lankan leader.