Sri Lanka | Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe will visit India on July 21, Foreign Ministry informed

Pic: Social Media New Delhi: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is coming on an official visit to India on July 21 in which the two countries will discuss enhancing connectivity and increasing mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is paying an official visit to India on July 21 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs. The ministry said that this will be the first visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India after assuming the current responsibility. According to the statement, during the visit, President Wickremesinghe will call on President Draupadi Murmu in New Delhi and hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. The Ministry of External Affairs said that Sri Lanka is an important partner in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and ‘Sagar Approach’. It added that the visit would reaffirm the long-standing friendship between the two countries and provide an opportunity to enhance connectivity and explore ways to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields. Also read Wickremesinghe’s visit comes at a time when Sri Lanka’s weak economy is showing signs of improvement. Sri Lanka was hit by a financial crisis in 2022 due to severe shortage of foreign exchange. It has faced the biggest economic crisis after independence from British rule in 1948. Sri Lanka announced its debt default for the first time in mid-April last year. In March this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave him a relief package of US $ 2.9 billion. During this period, under its policy of ‘neighbourhood first’, India had given assistance of about four billion dollars to Sri Lanka through various means. (agency)