Monitoring Desk,18-Jan;External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar will be on a three-day official visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka beginning today. During his visit to the Maldives, Mr Jaishankar will call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hold discussions with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.
His visit will see signing of agreements related to the bilateral development cooperation and launch of a number of key India-supported projects that will contribute to the socio-economic development of the Maldives.
EAM’s visit to Sri Lanka will follow his earlier visits to Sri Lanka in January 2021 and March 2022. Sri Lanka and India are all-weather ally.
During the visit, Mr Jaishankar will call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. He will also hold discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs M.U.M. Ali Sabry on the entire gamut of India-Sri Lanka partnership and steps to strengthen it in all spheres.
Both Maldives and Sri Lanka are India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy a special place in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and ‘Neighbourhood First’ approach.
EAM’s visit is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
