Jaishankar to visit Sri Lanka on Oct 4, first by any foreign minister since Dissanayake became president

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be visiting Sri Lanka this week and call on newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who assumed office on September 23. His visit to Colombo would be the first by any foreign minister after the presidential elections last month.  

Jaishankar’s visit to the neighbouring island nation, which is expected to begin on October 4, will be closely watched as it will include high-level engagement between India and Sri Lanka after Dissanayake came to power.  

India’s high commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, was the first foreign diplomat to call on Dissanayake after the outcome of the 2024 Sri Lanka was announced.

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The Sri Lanka visit of the EAM will be a significant opportunity for India to reinforce its commitment to providing development support for its strategically situated Indian Ocean neighbor, amid worries about a shift in its foreign policy under the Marxist president.

Through Jaishankar’s Sri Lanka visit, the Indian government is also hoping to build on its outreach to Dissanayake in the past 12 months that witnessed him visiting New Delhi earlier this year, setting aside reservations over his party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna’s (JVP) deep and longstanding resentment against India.  

During his Delhi visit, Dissanayake held talks with Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval.

India doesn’t want Dissanayake to be hostile like Muizzu

A report by Times of India quoted a source speaking on condition of anonymity as saying that Sri Lanka’s Dissanayake may not have been India’s first choice, but Jaishankar’s in just the second week of his presidency “suggests India doesn’t expect him to be hostile in the manner the new Maldives president (Mohamed Muizzu) was initially or the way the interim government in Bangladesh has been."  

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It took almost six months for the first-high level bilateral visit between Maldives and India after Muizzu took over last year.  

India and Bangladesh have still not had any bilateral visit following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in early August.

During his talks with Indian officials, Dissanayake is said to have praised India’s $4 billion assistance that helped bail Sri Lanka out of a financial crisis. Before becoming president, he also gave an assurance that he won’t be letting Sri Lanka’s land, sea and airspace to be used against India.

Though there are concerns about what kind of relationship Dissanayake might pursue with China, he has recently said that he views both India and China as valued partners and that he doesn’t want Sri Lanka to get involved in any “geopolitical fight”.  

“His anti-corruption focus helps India which believes in transparent infrastructure development, responsible debt financing practices, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the rule of law and the environment,’’ ToI quoted the source as saying.