Sri Lanka’s President and National People’s Power (NPP) party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will visit India from December 15 to 17, 2024, the foreign ministries of the two countries said on Friday, announcing his first state visit abroad since he won the presidency in September and his party swept the polls in the November general elections.

During his visit to New Delhi, Mr. Dissanayake will meet President Droupadi Murmu and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “and other Indian dignitaries on a range of issues of mutual interest”, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

President Dissanayake is also scheduled to participate in a business event in New Delhi aimed at “promoting investment and commercial linkages between India and Sri Lanka” and later, travel to Bodh Gaya, as part of the visit, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Development cooperation

The Sri Lankan leader’s visit to India assumes significance in the wake of his party’s resounding victory, with a two-thirds majority, in the recent parliamentary election and amid his government’s effort to rebuild the country’s crisis-hit economy. Mr. Dissanayake will also travel to Beijing soon, his government has said.

In the meetings scheduled in New Delhi during his visit, bilateral development projects and potential Indian investments are likely to be discussed, in addition to debt treatment as part of Sri Lanka’s current IMF programme. India’s proposals for greater connectivity with Sri Lanka are expected to be reviewed. Energy sector cooperation and the persisting fisheries conflict in the Palk Strait — Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu are frequently arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters — are also on the agenda, official sources said.

Also Read: Bottom trawling by Indian fishermen must stop: Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister

Significantly, the future of a controversial Adani power project in Sri Lanka will likely be discussed. Following the recent indictment of the Adani Group by a U.S. court, the Dissanayake administration said it is reviewing the wind power project that the former government had approved for execution in northern Sri Lanka. While on his campaign trail earlier, Mr. Dissanayake had pledged to cancel the “corrupt deal”, challenging the pricing formula in the power purchasing agreement reached without a competitive bid.

Turning a page

Mr. Dissanayake’s visit also turns a page in the complex story of Indo-Lanka ties, especially for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP or People’s Liberation Front) that leads the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) alliance. In the 1980s, the JVP militantly opposed “Indian hegemony” and the India-brokered Accord. Even as the party with Marxist-Leninist roots refashioned itself, Mr. Dissanayake has repeatedly sought to allay fears of “anti-Indian” sentiments.

Also read: Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna: From underground to government

“The world has changed, our party has also changed,” he told The Hindu in a 2023 interview. “We do know that India, who is our closest neighbour, has become a major political and economic centre,” he had said. Further, Mr. Dissanayake’s election manifesto stated: “We shall not allow any country or institution to use Sri Lanka’s land, sea and air spaces to threaten or risk the national security of any country in the region including India.”

Appearing to recognise this shift and the surge in Mr. Dissanayake’s popularity among Sri Lankans, the Government of India invited him early this year. During his five-day, three-city visit in February 2024, Mr. Dissanayake met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in New Delhi.

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.