NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jaffna, home to a large number of people of Tamil origin, on the next day of his arrival in Sri Lanka where he is going for a three-day official visit on March 13, his first to the southern island neighbour after assuming power. Mr Modi will be the first prime minister of India to visit the war-ravaged Jaffna.
Besides, Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister will also go to its Indian ocean island neighbours Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles, sources said
Mr Modi is also likely to visit Anuradhapur, the capital city of north-central province of Sri Lanka which was the centre of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries. Jaffna had suffered extensive damage during the civil strife that started in late 1980s. India is involved on a large scale in the reconstruction projects.
India has also been pressing Sri Lanka to expedite the process of reconciliation and devolution of power. The steps taken by the previous regime in that direction were not very satisfying for New Delhi, and this dissatisfaction had been conveyed several times during the high-level exchanges between the two countries. The Prime Minister’s visit to Jaffna was aimed at underlining the importance that India attaches to the issues of Sri Lankan Tamils.
Mr Modi had conveyed his acceptance of the invite to visit Sri Lanka during the recent visit of its President Maithripala Sirisena, which was his first visit abroad after assuming power dislodging Mahinda Rajapaksha regime in a keenly contest elections.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to go to Colombo in the first week of March to do the ground work for Mr Modi’s visit.
(AGENCIES)
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