Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Colombo on Wednesday morning for a one-day official visit, and was received at the airport by Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha.
Misri is scheduled to call on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath during the visit, along with other senior officials, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.
The High Commission described the visit as building on continuing high-level engagement between the two countries and said it is expected to strengthen bilateral ties while advancing key areas of cooperation. Hiru News, reporting in Sinhala, said the visit was also expected to reinforce the pace of implementation on major development cooperation projects.
Neither the High Commission nor Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry published an agenda for the talks ahead of the meetings, and no joint statement had been issued at the time of writing.
Context
Misri is India’s senior-most career diplomat and has been a recurring presence in the bilateral relationship. He was involved in the renewed push on the Trincomalee oil hub alongside the UAE, in New Delhi’s characterisation of the Colombo Dockyard takeover as a “strategic sector” investment, and in the move to give the Colombo Security Conclave formal international organisation status.
A one-day visit at Foreign Secretary level typically serves to prepare ground for higher-level engagement or to review progress on agreed projects rather than to conclude new agreements.
Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror, NewsFirst, Hiru News.
