Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on a state visit on Sunday making a special gesture to chose Sri Lanka as his second country of overseas visit after having re-elected.
He was received by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe among others.
Modi is the first international leader to visit Sri Lanka after it was hit with an unprecedented terror strike and the Easter bombings that killed over 250 people, including 11 Indians. “Expressing solidarity. In a special gesture, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe receives PM Narendra Modi on his arrival in Colombo,” tweeted MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar.
“The visit is a very special gesture and it is a very clear message of solidarity that the people and government of India stand firmly with the people and government of Sri Lanka at this tragic time,” Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters here on Thursday.
“We of course have a traditional friendship with Sri Lanka, this has been significantly strengthened in the first term of the Prime Minister and Prime Minister’s visit so early on in his second term is intended to very clearly signal that we intend to not only continue this engagement but enhance our commitment in terms of the relationship with Sri Lanka,” Gokhale has said.
