Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit India next month and hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Colombo Gazette reported on June 12.
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| Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Ranil Wickremesinghe to New Delhi as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, October 2018. (Source: DNA) |
In addition to holding talks with the host country's Prime Minister, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will meet with India's Foreign Minister, Finance Minister and National Security Advisor.
During the visit on July 21, the two sides will focus on discussing political, economic, security and cultural relations.
This will be President Ranil Wickremesinghe's first visit to India since being elected by the country's parliament as President to replace Mr. Rajapaksa in July 2022.
The 74-year-old politician will complete the remaining term of his predecessor Rajapaksa, which ends in November 2024. Sri Lanka will then hold a general election to choose a new president.
Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe has served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka six times.
According to Reuters , Sri Lanka is currently struggling with its worst financial crisis in decades. Last year, with about $51 billion in foreign debt, Sri Lanka became the first government in the Asia-Pacific region to default on international debt since Pakistan in 1999.
In March, Sri Lanka signed a nearly $3 billion loan from the IMF, but the South Asian nation's debt restructuring still has a long way to go.
Strengthening cooperation with Sri Lanka is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Neighbourhood First" policy, especially in the context of China's increasing influence in South Asian countries through loans and infrastructure investment projects.
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