Amid the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Colombo for three days next week to hold talks with his counterpart GL Peiris and other leaders. India has already extended credit to Sri Lanka and is likely to offer more help to help it to overcome the present crisis.
Giving details of his visit here, the Ministry of External Affairs said Jaishankar will visit Sri Lanka from March 28 to March 30. Prior to this tour, he will tour Maldives and inaugurate some key projects there. Both the countries are key maritime neighbours of India.
As regards the Lanka visit, the ministry said "the bilateral meetings and interactions which the external affairs minister will have in Sri Lanka highlight the priority that Sri Lanka occupies for India."
Incidentally, his visit to the island country comes a week after India announced a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka to help it deal with the ongoing economic crisis. Moreover, the visit follows the visits to India by Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa in December 2021 and earlier this month and that of Foreign Minister GL Peiris in February.
The ministry said Jaishankar will also participate in the BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation(BIMSTEC) ministerial meeting on March 29 in Colombo.
"Both Maldives and Sri Lanka are India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy special place in the prime minister's vision of 'SAGAR' and Neighbourhood First," the external affairs ministry said.
"The external affairs minister's visit is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives and Sri Lanka," it said. SAGAR or "Security and Growth for all in the Region" is aimed at cooperative measures for sustainable use of the oceans in the region.
On his first stop in Maldives, the ministry said Jaishankar will inaugurate a number of India-supported projects and firm up several agreements to further bolster bilateral cooperation.
During his visit to the Maldivian city of Addu from March 26 to March 27, Jaishankar will call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hold discussions with Foreign Affairs Minister Abdulla Shahid.
"The external affairs minister's visit will see the signing of several agreements related to the bilateral development cooperation, inauguration and launch of a number of key India-supported projects that will contribute to the socio-economic development of the Maldives and enhance its security," the MEA said in a statement.
The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the bilateral defence and security ties have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.