FS Kwatra meets Lankan leadership; discusses President Wickremesinghe's India visit

He also acknowledged Indias continuous support as a neighbouring ally during the recent economic crisis, it said.They discussed President Wickremesinghes upcoming official visit to India and the planned activities during the visit, the statement added.Kwatra also held discussions with Sagala Ratnayaka, the Presidents Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff.Earlier, Kwatra met Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and discussed bilateral ties and the upcoming state visit of the President to India.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Tuesday met Sri Lanka's top leadership, including President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and discussed ways to bring about a ''positive transformation'' in the bilateral ties, including on the economic front.

Kwatra arrived here on Monday night on a two-day official visit to take stock of several Indian projects and prepare the ground for President Wickremesinghe's trip to India next week.

Kwatra met President Wickremesinghe on Tuesday at the Ministry of Defence. Their meeting focused on enhancing bilateral relations and working towards future economic and social goals that would benefit both countries' populations, the president's office said in a statement.

''During the meeting, President Wickremesinghe briefed the Indian Foreign Secretary on the government's reform programme aimed at strengthening the country's economy. He also acknowledged India's continuous support as a neighbouring ally during the recent economic crisis,'' it said.

They discussed President Wickremesinghe's upcoming official visit to India and the planned activities during the visit, the statement added.

Kwatra also held discussions with Sagala Ratnayaka, the President's Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff.

Earlier, Kwatra met Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and discussed bilateral ties and the upcoming state visit of the President to India. The visit is expected to be on July 21.

Sabry said he discussed with the Indian foreign secretary the upcoming state visit of President Wickremesinghe to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

''Our discussion also centred around strengthening the bilateral relationship between our two countries for the mutual benefit of our people,'' he said in a tweet.

In a statement issued by the Indian High Commission here, Kwatra described Wickremesinghe as ''a well-known leader and a very strong supporter of the relationship'' between the two countries.

He said the purpose of his visit was essentially to prepare for the upcoming visit of President Wickremesinghe to India.

''My discussions earlier today with the Sri Lankan leadership as also with the Foreign Ministry were essentially focused on trying to ensure that the upcoming visit of the President is actually a point of positive transformation in the relationship,'' he said.

Kwatra said that during his meetings he discussed the key areas of partnership that the two sides could progress ahead of the visit.

He discussed the priorities of the Sri Lankan leadership, shared the perspective of the Indian leadership on the relationship, the strength of the relationship, different elements of cooperation in the relationship, elements of the partnership in years ahead across the entire matrix of economic partnership that India and Sri Lanka enjoy.

''We have worked and cooperated very well in the last 14-16 months of various challenges that Sri Lanka went through and I can assure that a very warm welcome awaits him in India,'' he said.

''We eagerly look forward to the President's visit to India and make it a success both of his visit but also a similar success of our relationship,'' he said, adding that ''our objective is to ensure that the visit of the President to India is a huge success.'' Kwatra also held talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Aruni Wijewardena.

Officials said Kwatra would assess several Indian projects in multiple sectors which are in the pipeline and prepare the ground for Wickremesinghe's visit to India.

Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day visit to India on July 21 during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Modi, officials here said on Sunday.

They said Wickremesinghe will finalise the implementation of several Indian projects related to power and energy, agriculture, and maritime issues in the island nation ahead of his departure for New Delhi.

This will be Wickremesinghe's first visit to India after being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a people's uprising in July.

Wickremesinghe has laid emphasis on good relations with India and made it a major plank of his foreign policy.

His visit to India has been on hold for several months after a formal invitation was delivered to him by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in January this year.

The visit comes as Sri Lanka's weak economy shows signs of improvement.

Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves. India offered Sri Lanka an economic lifeline with dedicated credit lines for fuel and essential items.

The island nation, which declared its first-ever credit default in mid-April last year, secured a bailout of USD 2.9 billion from the IMF in March this year, spanning over 4 years subject to reforms being put in place.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)