Indian Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday morning for a two-day official visit, accompanied by a 49-member delegation.
The delegation landed at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake on an Indian Air Force flight and was received at the VIP terminal by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and several other ministers.
Agenda
Radhakrishnan is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya during the visit, which runs through Monday, April 20. He will also meet political and community leaders.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Vice President will launch rehabilitation projects for communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah, which caused over $4 billion in damage and killed more than 640 people when it struck northern and eastern Sri Lanka in November 2025. The agenda also includes reviewing progress on ongoing development initiatives funded by the Indian government.
Strategic context
The visit is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Vice President to Sri Lanka, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. It comes at a moment of heightened bilateral engagement: New Delhi has underwritten much of Colombo’s post-crisis recovery through currency swaps, fuel credit lines, and infrastructure finance.
The timing carries particular weight given the ongoing Middle East energy shock. India facilitated Sri Lanka’s first crude oil shipment since the Hormuz closure on April 17, with the Shipping Corporation of India’s Desh Mahima delivering 97,500 metric tons to Colombo Port.
