Source: DD News
Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will make a two-day visit to India from December 15, marking his first overseas visit after assuming office.
It was announced on Tuesday that Dissanayake will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu, Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayathissa told reporters here during his visit.
He will be accompanied by Vijitha Herath, the foreign minister and Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando, said Jayathissa, also the Minister of Health.
This will be Dissanayake’s first overseas visit since having been elected in September successive to this historic parliamentary victory of his party in November, as reported in the New Indian Express.
This invitation was extended by India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, the first foreign dignitary to visit Colombo after Dissanayake took office, thus indicating some kind of proactive Indian outreach to promote bilateral ties.
India has sought to counter the growing Chinese footprint in Sri Lanka, especially in view of substantial Chinese investments in large-scale infrastructure projects.
While New Delhi has enhanced its own developmental initiatives in the island nation, China remains Sri Lanka’s biggest bilateral lender, accounting for a significant share of that country’s debts.
This visit acquires greater significance due to the fact that Sri Lanka continues to deal with its 2022 economic crisis in which it defaulted on foreign debts of $46 billion.
With President Dissanayake also expected to visit Beijing next month, his trip to New Delhi will showcase a delicate balancing act in navigating relations between two major powers competing for regional influence.
The visit discussions were doctrinally expected to center around India’s role as a key partner in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and along with strategic stability and the criticality of such high-level engagements.
THE IMPACT:
During the visit, the looming debt crisis of Sri Lanka will probably garner the most attention along with the process of economic recovery. Having a chunk of the bilateral debt of Sri Lanka, the Chinese interest in the agenda for Dissanayake is likely to be on account of the forthcoming meeting the president shall have with an invitation from Beijing, due for January. Maintaining his balance between the interests of India and China is going to be delicate for Sri Lanka, which is trying its best to manage its external relations while seeking monetary assistance and long-term stability.
Some of the experts highlight the importance of Dissanayake’s visit timing to India. “Sri Lanka’s geography in the Indian Ocean is what has drawn the glances of all powers, China in particular. India has, again and again, demonstrated that, diplomatically in the region, its undertaking to limit Chinese naval access shows the wide implications of Sri Lanka’s internal politics upon international relations,” said a geopolitical expert.
Dissanayake’s first international visit to India is likely to set important precedents so far as Sri Lankan foreign policy and the way forward for the island are concerned. A visit is certainly an indication of consolidating ties between the two countries and cooperating to address Sri Lanka’s challenges while navigating the complex geopolitical dynamics in the region.
