President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to visit India mid-December, says Foreign Minister 

Vijitha Herath (left), who served as Foreign Minister in President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s interim government, was on Monday [November 18, 2024] sworn in as Foreign Minister in Sri Lanka’s new Cabinet, installed after the November 14 general election.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who assumed office in September, will undertake his first state visit abroad to India mid-December, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has said.

Mr. Herath made the remark to local media on Monday, soon after President Dissanayake installed Sri Lanka’s new Cabinet following his party’s big win in the November 14 general elections. A date is yet to be fixed for the visit. Colombo and New Delhi are in the process of working out a mutually convenient schedule, sources said.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka early in October and extended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to President Dissanayake. Mr. Dissanayake’s interim government reportedly conveyed that high-level visits would be considered after the conclusion of the parliamentary polls. The general election was crucial for his government to consolidate power in the legislature. The ruling National People’s Power has won a historic mandate, securing more than a two-thirds majority.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka has undertaken a visit to Jaffna on Tuesday. Responding to a question from local media on President Dissanayake’s visit to India, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said he saw Mr. Herath’s media remark about it. “We are very glad to see this development because India and Sri Lanka are close neighbours. When the two countries enhance their relationship and promote their economic cooperation, they can deliver benefits to two peoples,” he told reporters at the Jaffna Press Club. China, too, has invited Mr. Dissanayake to Beijing at his convenience, he said. The visit to China would enhance our traditional friendship and promote our bilateral economic cooperation, and bring more benefits to our peoples,” he noted.