New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar will visit Sri Lanka on January 18 with a focus on energy, food security and debt assurances. Jaishankar visit comes at a time when Colombo was under dire straits and his visit is crucial as it will focus on supporting Sri Lanka in its current economic crisis.
S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka from January 18 to 20. Sri Lanka is a close friend and neighbour, and India has stood with the people of Sri Lanka at all times. During the visit, the EAM will call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and also hold discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs MUM Ali Sabry on the entire gamut of close India-Sri Lanka partnership and steps to strengthen it in all spheres.
Talks between the two sides are expected on two possible MoUs, one on the Trincomalee development project and the other on the long-pending plan for a cross-strait transmission line. Meanwhile, during his visit to the Maldives, the EAM would call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hold discussions with the Minister of Foreign Abdulla Shahid.
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The EAM’s visit will see the signing of agreements related to the bilateral development cooperation between India-Maldives, ground-breaking, inauguration, handing-over and launch of a number of key India-supported projects that will contribute to the socio-economic development of the Maldives. It is pertinent to note that both Maldives and Sri Lanka are India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy a special place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and ‘Neighbourhood First’. The EAM’s visit is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives.
