Indian Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan will engage directly with Sri Lanka’s 1.5 million Indian-origin Tamil community during his two-day visit beginning Saturday, with a focus on grassroots outreach alongside high-level bilateral talks, Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha said.
Speaking to news agency ANI ahead of the visit, Jha said the Vice President’s itinerary combines official diplomacy with community engagement. Radhakrishnan will meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and the Leader of the Opposition, along with leaders of Sri Lankan Tamil parties and Indian-origin Tamil political groups.
A community reception with the Indian diaspora is also scheduled, where the Vice President is expected to address members of the long-settled Indian-origin Tamil community.
Nuwara Eliya programme
The second day of the visit takes the Vice President to Nuwara Eliya, the central up-country tea-growing region home to a large section of the Indian-origin Tamil community. Radhakrishnan will visit settlements developed under India’s Housing Project Phase III, which has already constructed 4,000 homes, with a further 10,000 currently under construction.
“The Vice President will go there, meet the residents, talk to them, try to understand their problems, and naturally strengthen our connection with the Indian-origin Tamil community,” Jha said.
The Vice President will also visit the Seetha Amman Temple, adding a cultural and spiritual dimension to the programme.
Sustained exchanges
Jha said the visit continues a “sustained pattern of high-level exchanges,” noting it falls exactly one year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s April 2025 visit to Colombo. He also cited President Dissanayake’s trip to India in December 2024 as part of the wider engagement cycle.
New Delhi describes Sri Lanka as a key partner under its “Neighbourhood First” policy and the recently framed “Vision MAHASAGAR” regional framework. The visit comes at a period of unusually close cooperation, including Indian-facilitated crude oil shipments that have helped Colombo weather the Hormuz supply crisis.
The Vice President is expected to conclude his programme on Sunday.
