Under one umbrella

President Maithripala Sirisena and Indian Premier Narendra Singh Modi at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.
Pic by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday on the second leg of his first foreign visit after re-election last month, reflecting the importance India attaches to its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.  

Modi was received by his Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Bandaranaike International Airport. He was the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. 

He paid tribute to the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks at the St Anthony’s Church in Colombo, one of the three churches attacked by the terrorists. 

PM Modi was given an official welcome ceremony at President’s Secretariat in Colombo.