New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Sri Lanka on Thursday. This will be his first bilateral foreign visit after becoming the Foreign Minister for the second consecutive time. The Ministry of External Affairs said that this visit reaffirms India’s ‘Neighbor First Policy’ and underlines India’s continued commitment to Sri Lanka as the country is its “closest” maritime neighbor and a time-tested friend.
The ministry said Jaishankar’s visit will give impetus to mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in connectivity projects and other areas. Jaishankar was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s delegation to the G-7 Outreach Summit in Italy’s Apulia region last week.
This will be Jaishankar’s first bilateral visit to Sri Lanka after assuming charge as Foreign Minister for the second term on June 11. The Ministry of External Affairs said that the Foreign Minister will hold meetings with the Sri Lankan leadership on a wide range of issues.
It said, “This will be the first bilateral visit of the Foreign Minister after the formation of the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, “Reaffirming India’s Neighbourhood First policy, this visit underlines India’s continued commitment to Sri Lanka, as it is its closest maritime neighbour and a time-tested friend.
“The visit will provide impetus to connectivity projects and other mutually beneficial cooperation in various sectors,” it said. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was among seven top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 9.