PM Modi to hold virtual bilateral summit with Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a virtual bilateral summit with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday, September 26. This will be the Sri Lankan Prime Ministers first diplomatic engagement since taking the oath of office on August 9. 

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India-Sri Lanka Virtual bilateral summit

On Thursday, September 24 during a weekly press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "The Virtual Bilateral Summit will be Prime Minister Modi's first such virtual engagement with a neighbouring country and also Prime Minister Rajapaksa's first diplomatic engagement with a leader of a foreign country after he was sworn in as PM on August 9.”

Srivastava went on to add that PM Modi has been in regular contact with both the President and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He informed that the virtual bilateral summit precedes the state visit of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019 and Mahinda Rajapaksa in February 2020.

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Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said that Prime Minister Modi has continued to keep the dialogue open and has engaged in several telephonic conversations with the Sri Lankan leaders wherein they discussed the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and further cooperation between the two nations in this regard.

During the briefing, the MEA spokesperson also added that the upcoming bilateral summit would allow both leaders to review the relationships in the context of the time tested friendly ties between the nations.

Srivastava said, “A Virtual Bilateral Summit under challenging circumstances due to COVID-19 testifies the deep-rooted civilisational ties and shared heritage between the two neighbouring countries. This is also a reflection of India's 'Neighbourhood First' approach and SAGAR doctrine”.

(With ANI inputs; Image Credits - PTI)

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