AFP June 9th, 2019
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on June 9, 2019 AFP
Modi is stopping in Colombo on his return home after an official visit to neighboring Maldives, where he inaugurated a coastal radar system and military training centre
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday made an unscheduled stop at a Catholic church bombed during the Easter suicide attacks ahead of his official welcome to Sri Lanka.
Modi’s entourage made a detour to St Anthony’s shrine on their way to President Maithripala Sirisena’s office, where a red carpet military parade awaited.
“I am confident Sri Lanka will rise again,” Modi said on Twitter while posting photos of himself at the church.
“Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka.”
The New Indian Express✔@NewIndianXpress · 19h
PM @narendramodi begins Sri Lanka visit by paying respect at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade, one of the #SriLankaTerrorAttacks sites; says India stands in solidarity with the people.
Modi is also the first world leader to visit country after blasts: http://bit.ly/2F0hxDB
The New Indian Express✔@NewIndianXpress
PM Modi’s visit is considered as a sign of India’s affirmation of solidarity with #SriLanka in the wake of the deadly Easter terror attacks.http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2019/jun/09/modi-in-sri-lanka-pm-visits-colombo-church-pays-tributes-to-victims-of-easter-terror-attacks-1987974.html …44:59 AM – Jun 9, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacyModi in Sri Lanka: PM visits Colombo church, pays tributes to victims of Easter terror attacksModi’s visit is considered as a sign of India’s affirmation of solidarity with Sri Lanka in the wake of the deadly Easter terror attacks.newindianexpress.comSee The New Indian Express’s other Tweets
Modi is stopping in Colombo on his return home after an official visit to neighboring Maldives, where he inaugurated a coastal radar system and military training centre.
His brief but politically significant visit to the two neighbors comes as New Delhi seeks to fend off Chinese influence on the strategic nations.
The Maldives, a low-lying archipelago of more than a thousand tiny coral islands south of the Indian subcontinent, straddles the world’s busiest east-west maritime route.
Sri Lanka is located at a halfway point on the same sea route.
India, the traditional ally of both Sri Lanka and the Maldives, had watched with unease as former governments of strongman leader Abdulla Yameen of the Maldives and Sri Lanka’s Mahinda Rajapakse leaned towards Beijing for political and financial support.
Yameen’s election loss last September, however, has seen the new administration under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih swing back towards New Delhi.
PM Shri @narendramodi pays tribute to those who lost their lives in the ghastly Easter Sunday terrorist attacks at St Anthony’s Church in Colombo.
He reaffirmed India’s solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka in these difficult times.1,7813:58 AM – Jun 9, 2019369 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy
Colombo too has moved back to New Delhi after the defeat of Rajapakse in January 2015.
Last month, Colombo announced entering into partnership with India and Japan to develop a deep-sea container terminal next to a controversial $500-million Chinese-run facility in the capital.
NDTV✔@ndtv · 20hReplying to @ndtv
“Happy to be back in Sri Lanka, my third visit to this beautiful island in four years,” tweets PM Modi as he arrives in Colombo
Track LIVE updates: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-modi-in-sri-lanka-live-updates-pm-modi-to-meet-president-opposition-leaders-2050361 …
PM Modi pays tribute to the victims of Easter bombings at St Anthony’s Church in Sri Lanka’s Colombo.
“I am confident Sri Lanka will rise again,” he tweeted. pic.twitter.com/5xkbb36Cdl1702:58 AM – Jun 9, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy
26 people are talking about this
A memorandum of cooperation (MOC) had been signed between the three countries to develop what is known as the East Terminal of Colombo port.
China owns 85% of the adjoining Colombo International Container Terminal, which was commissioned in 2013. The state-owned Sri Lanka Ports Authority owns the remaining 15%.
More than two thirds of transhipment containers handled by Colombo originated from or was destined for India.
Sri Lanka, unable to repay a huge Chinese loan, handed over another deep-sea port in the south of the island to a Beijing company in December 2017 in a deal that raised concerns at home and abroad.