New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe today for talks during which the two leaders discussed issues of mutual interest. The talks are currently being held in Hyderabad House. Sri Lankan president who arrived on a two-day visit to India, arrived at the night of July 20. He was welcomed by Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan.
Sri Lanka is an essential partner in India’s Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision SAGAR. The visit is expected to reinforce the longstanding friendship between the two nations and explore avenues for enhanced connectivity and mutually beneficial cooperation.
This is President Ranil’s first visit to India since taking office after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was swept from power after mass protests in 2022. While several agreements have been exchanged between India and Sri Lanka in the presence of PM Modi and President Ranil, one of the crucial one is network-to-network agreements for the UPI acceptance in Sri Lanka.
China’s presence in the Indian Ocean is likely to feature in talks, given its importance to India. New Delhi has been worried over the presence of Chinese spy vessels, most notably the Yuan Wang-5, which docked in Hambantota port in August 2022 despite Indian objections.