Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's new President, to visit India on Nov 29: S Jaishankar

Newly-elected Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will travel to India on November 29 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. Jaishankar made the announcement after meeting Rajapaksa, who was sworn in as the country's new President on Monday. Jaishankar took to Twitter to confirm the development, after the meeting which came hours after President Rajapaksa assumed the office on Tuesday.

'Confident that under his leadership, India-Sri Lanka would reach greater heights'

PM Modi telephoned Gotabaya Rajapaksa to congratulate him

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday telephoned Sri Lanka's then-President-elect Gotabaya Rajapaksa to congratulate him on his electoral win and invited him to visit India. Rajapaksa stormed to victory in Sri Lanka's presidential elections, the results of which came on Sunday. The Lankan leader thanked the Prime Minister for his good wishes and expressed his readiness to work with India very closely to ensure development and security, the Prime Minister's Office said in a series of tweets.

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Modi extended an invitation to Rajapaksa to visit India at his earliest convenience. "The invitation was accepted," the PMO said. Earlier in the day, Modi took to Twitter to congratulate the Sri Lankan leader, saying he looks forward to further deepen relations between the two nations.

Rajapaksa is credited with helping end the island nation's long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during his tenure as the defence secretary. In 2006, he survived an assassination attempt carried out by the LTTE with minor injuries.

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(With PTI inputs)