PM Modi’s Maldives, Sri Lanka visits to focus on neighbourhood ties

Modi will first travel to the Maldives and then to Sri Lanka. Bilateral ties with the Maldives soured after then President Abdulla Yameen declared emergency last February.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Maldives and Sri Lanka from June 8 to June 9 to strengthen ties with the island countries, his first overseas visit after being re-elected to the top job, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday.

This will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first overseas visit after being re-elected to the top job. (PTI)

The choice of the countries for the PM’s first official visit serves to illustrate the government’s emphasis on the neighbourhood first policy, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters.

Modi visited the Maldives last November to attend President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s swearing-in but it wasn’t a full-fledged state visit, officials said.

Modi will first travel to the Maldives and then to Sri Lanka. Bilateral ties with the Maldives soured after then President Abdulla Yameen declared emergency last February. The frayed relationship has been repaired under Solih’s leadership.

The visit is reflective of the new momentum in high-level exchanges between India and the Maldives, the MEA said. The PM will address the People’s Majlis, the Maldives’ parliament. Modi is visiting the Maldives at the invitation of Solih, who made a state visit to India last December.

Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka on June 9 at the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena will be an occasion to express solidarity following the Easter Sunday attacks, the ministry said.