Bilateral Virtual Summit: Prime Minister Modi had extensive talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart (archive)
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- Prime Minister Modi held extensive talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart
- Prime Minister Modi said India prioritizes its relations with Sri Lanka
- It was PM’s first virtual chat with a leader from a neighboring country
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held extensive talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa, spanning the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and focusing on further expanding cooperation in key areas.
In his opening remarks at a virtual bilateral summit, Prime Minister Modi said he was confident that the ruling party’s massive electoral victory in Sri Lanka backed by the policies of the Rajapaksa government will facilitate deeper cooperation between the two countries.
“The opportunity has come to start a new chapter in relations between India and Sri Lanka after the electoral victory of their party. People from both countries are looking at us with new hopes and expectations,” Prime Minister Modi said.
Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s prime minister for a new term on August 9 after her party, the Popular Front of Sri Lanka, won a two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Modi said that India prioritizes its relations with Sri Lanka and mentioned his government’s neighborhood policy first, as well as the SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine.
It was Prime Minister Modi’s first virtual bilateral engagement with a leader from a neighboring country. For Prime Minister Rajapaksa, it was the first diplomatic engagement with a leader of a foreign country after he was sworn in as Prime Minister.
It emerged that the two leaders deliberated on a number of issues, such as ways to further deepen trade and defense ties, as well as expanding existing cooperation in several key areas.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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