Indian External Affairs Minister in Sri Lanka

Indian External Affairs Minister in Sri Lanka for BIMSTEC & Bilateral talks

by Zulfick Farzan 28-03-2022 | 6:10 AM

Colombo (News 1st): Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar arrived in Sri Lana on Sunday (27) night for bilateral talks with Sri Lanka's top leadership and to attend the seven-nation BIMSTEC summit.

This will be his first visit to the island nation since India extended an economic relief package to bail Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.

Although Jaishankar's visit is primarily for the BIMSTEC engagements, he would be taking part in all important bilateral talks with the Sri Lankan leaders.

Besides India and Sri Lanka, the BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

The summit is being hosted by Sri Lanka in its capacity as the chair of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the virtual summit of the BIMSTEC grouping on March 30, which is expected to focus on expanding economic engagement among its member countries.

The summit comes at a time when Sri Lanka is facing its all-time worst foreign exchange crisis after the pandemic hit the island nation's earnings from tourism and remittances.