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Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya on Thursday said that her visit to India aims to further strengthen the longstanding relationship between the two neighbouring countries.
Speaking to ANI about the purpose of her visit, Prime Minister Amarasuriya said, "Further increasing and strengthening our (India-Sri Lanka) relationship." The Sri Lankan leader, who is on her maiden visit to India as Prime Minister, visited Hindu College in New Delhi, where she once studied. During her interaction with students, she reflected on her time at the institution and expressed optimism about the future. "It is lovely to be back. It is lovely to see the current students. I become so hopeful when I see them," Amarasuriya said. Earlier in the day, during her address at the University of Delhi, she called for transforming the political culture by removing corruption and nepotism, while urging citizens not to turn away from politics, saying it remains the key to bringing meaningful change. "Let's change what we don't like about politics -- the cultures of some political parties, the corruption, the nepotism, the distance from normal, ordinary citizens. Let's change that, but don't reject politics, because without politics, you won't be able to change the world, and that's what we have to do," Amarasuriya said. She also praised India's progress in digital governance, describing it as an example for others to follow. When asked how technology could be leveraged to make governance more participatory, she said, "I think India has done that amazingly well. The digitalisation of governance systems is making the public sector digitalised. I think India is actually an excellent example of how digitalisation can lead to more accountable governments, more accessible, transparent systems." She added that Sri Lanka is looking closely at India's model to see how similar initiatives could be implemented at home. "This is something that we are looking at. We are looking at India to see how we can do the same thing in Sri Lanka. But I also have a -- my friends sometimes have called me -- a late adapter to technology," she said with a smile. On Thursday morning, Amarasuriya arrived in New Delhi for her maiden visit to India after assuming office. (ANI)
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