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A 24-member delegation of young political leaders from Sri Lanka met Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in New Delhi on Tuesday, with India highlighting their role in "deepening" the bilateral partnership between the two countries.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the visit is part of India's ongoing efforts to build stronger political partnerships with Sri Lanka. "A 24-member delegation of young political leaders from 14 political parties of Sri Lanka called on Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri as they began their two-week-long programme in India. Foreign Secretary emphasised their valuable role in deepening the #IndiaSriLanka partnership as stakeholders in its future roadmap," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1945307529871024202 This visit follows a series of recent high-level exchanges between India and Sri Lanka. Last year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was the first foreign dignitary to visit Sri Lanka after Anura Kumara Dissanayake took charge as President. During that visit, India announced the conversion of completed Line of Credit projects worth USD 20 million into grants and also gifted 22 diesel locomotives to Sri Lankan Railways. Later in the same year, President Dissanayake visited India on his first overseas State visit. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Labour Minister Anil Jayantha. During the visit, he held talks with President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and other senior leaders. A joint statement titled "Fostering Partnerships for a Shared Future" was released during the visit. The two sides also signed a protocol to amend the Double Taxation Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for training Sri Lankan civil servants. India also announced financial support of USD 14.9 million for a railway signalling project in the Maho-Anuradhapura section and offered 100 scholarships each year to students from the University of Jaffna and Eastern University. President Dissanayake also visited Bodh Gaya and took part in a business interaction in New Delhi, reflecting the growing depth in India-Sri Lanka relations. (ANI)
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