Sri Lanka president in India in first overseas trip

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was in India on Monday for his first overseas visit as head of state, vowing to bolster ties between the neighbours.

Leaders of the island nation typically make their first visit to India, which competes with China for influence in the Indian Ocean.

Leftist Dissanayake, who came to power in September on a pledge to fight corruption, is expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi later today.

Dissanayake said he had held “productive discussions” with India’s finance foreign ministers, as well as national security adviser Ajit Doval.

“Our conversations focused on strengthening Indo-Sri Lanka economic cooperation, enhancing investment opportunities, fostering regional security, and advancing key sectors such as tourism and energy,” Dissanayake said in a statement.

“These engagements reaffirm the commitment to deepening the partnership between our two nations.”

New Delhi has been concerned about Beijing’s growing hold in Sri Lanka.

India has stepped up infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka in recent years, but China is Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral lender.

Dissanayake is expected to travel to Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders in early 2025.

Sri Lanka suffered its worst financial crisis in 2022 when it ran out of foreign exchange to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines, and defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt.