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Foreign Secretary Shringla arrives in Colombo, to call on SL President, PM

Colombo/New Delhi, Oct 2 (UNI) Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla arrived in Colombo on Saturday evening on a four-day official visit during which he will hold discussions and also travel to various parts of Sri Lanka to further boost cooperation between the two nations.
The Indian High Commission in Colombo tweeted a picture of the Foreign Secretary’s arrival in Colombo. He was received by Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay and Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage.
“Foreign Secretary@harshvshringla arrives in Colombo for his first Official visit. During the visit, FS will hold discussions and travel to various parts of SL to further boost cooperation between our nations,” the Indian High Commission tweeted.
According to the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry, Foreign Secretary Shringla will call on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Foreign Minister G. L. Peiris.
He will also visit Kandy, Trincomalee and Jaffna during his four-day stay.
His visit comes as the Indian Army’s Mitra Shakti contingent was received earlier in the day with ceremonial honour by the Sri Lanka Army at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
The two forces will engage in the largest friendly joint military exercises in the sub-continent.
This is the 8th edition of the India-Sri Lanka bilateral joint exercise Mitra Shakti at the Combat Training School, Ampara in Sri Lanka to be held from October 4-15. The exercises will involve tactical level operations in an international Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment.
The Foreign Secretary’s October 2-5 visit is at the invitation of the Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary.
The visit will contribute towards consolidating the longstanding multifaceted relations and enhance bilateral partnerships between two countries, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry statement said.
This is his first visit to Sri Lanka since assumption of office as the Foreign Secretary of India.
The visit also comes two days after India’s Adani Group sealed a deal to develop and run the strategic Western Container Terminal at Colombo Port.
Adani Group will have a 51% stake in the port’s Western Container Terminal (WCT) becoming the first-ever Indian port operator in the island nation.

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