New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Sri Lanka from 4 April to 6 April after attending the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit in Thailand, ThePrint has learnt. This will be his fourth trip to Sri Lanka, and potentially his longest.
In the past, Modi has transited through Sri Lanka for short one-day, or at most two-day, visits in 2015, 2017 and 2019. This time around, he is set to visit for three days, with potential meetings to be held outside of Colombo, people familiar with the matter said.
The Indian prime minister was invited to visit Sri Lanka by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. As part of his official programme, he is likely to inaugurate a solar power plant in Sri Lanka’s Trincomalee district, which will indicate Sri Lanka’s intent to remain open for business from India, despite the challenges following the Adani Group pulling out of a renewable energy project in the island country last month.
The controversial projects in northern Sri Lanka, which the conglomerate was a part of, faced a number of challenges, following Colombo’s intent to renegotiate the power purchase agreements signed by the previous administration.
Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka comes around three months after Dissanayke visited India in December 2024. The Sri Lankan president held official engagements in New Delhi, and also travelled to Bodh Gaya—a key Buddhist pilgrimage site—and offered prayers at the Mahabodhi temple.
That was Dissanayke’s first official overseas visit after winning the presidential elections last September. A number of discussions were held between the two leaders covering the full gamut of ties, including on maritime security matters, the issue of arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities, the rights of Tamils and energy ties.
India is concerned about the increasing number of Chinese “research vessels”, which can collect dual-use data—both for civil and military purposes—surveying the Indian Ocean. In the past, these vessels had berthed at ports in Sri Lanka before the previous administration led by Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a year-long moratorium, banning all research vessels from using Sri Lankan ports starting 1 January, 2024.
While there has been no word of the moratorium being extended, Dissanayake has assured New Delhi that Sri Lankan territory will not be used in a manner “which is detrimental” to India.
Before the Sri Lanka trip, Modi will be in Bangkok for the sixth BIMSTEC Leaders’ Summit, which is set to take place on 3 April and 4 April.
There, the prime minister is likely to meet Bangladesh’s Interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines, as reported by ThePrint last month. The two leaders are yet to hold a bilateral meeting since Yunus assumed charge over the interim government in Dhaka last August, after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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