3 min readApr 19, 2026 04:47 AM IST
First published on: Apr 18, 2026 at 09:01 PM IST
Vice President C P Radhakrishnan will begin an official visit to Sri Lanka on Sunday, his office announced on Saturday. During the two-day visit, Radhakrishnan will call on Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Disanayaka, and also meet Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
During the two-day official visit, the first by an Indian vice-president to the island nation, he will also interact with leaders of the Indian-origin Tamil community and Tamil leaders from the Northern and Eastern regions of Sri Lanka, as per his office.
Later in the day, the vice president will address the Indian diaspora at a community event in Colombo, where he will virtually hand over houses to beneficiaries from Tamil communities, built with assistance from the Indian government as part of the third phase of the Indian Housing Project.
With this, the total number of houses for Tamil communities will reach 50,000, while 10,000 more houses are being built in the fourth phase of the project, the statement mentioned.
ExplainedKeeping the promise
India’s development cooperation with Sri Lanka stands out as one of the most important pillars of the bilateral relationship. The Indian government has been carrying out people-oriented development projects across the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, with the construction of 60,000 houses under the four phases of Indian Housing Project at a total cost of more than Rs 1,800 crore – among the largest grant assistance projects. The fourth phase, covering 10,000 houses for plantation sector workers, follows an announcement made by PM Modi in May 2017.
On Monday, the vice president will travel to Nuwara Eliya, visit the Indian Housing Projects, and interact with the local Tamil community. Indian-origin Tamilians comprise approximately 1.6 million (about 7%) of Sri Lanka’s population.
This visit, which follows recent high-level engagements between the two countries, is expected to further strengthen the millennia-old civilisational and people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka, the statement said.
This is the first bilateral official visit of the Vice President of India to Sri Lanka. In October 2000, the then Vice President Krishan Kant had visited Sri Lanka for the state funeral of former PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
High-level engagements between the two countries have taken place in the recent past, with President Disanayaka visiting India in February, and PM Amarasuriya visiting India in October 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had three telephonic conversations with President Disanayaka: in April 2025, in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack; in December 2025, post Cyclone Ditwah; and just last month, to discuss the West Asia conflict.
In the wake of widespread devastation in Sri Lanka due to Cyclone Ditwah in November 2025, New Delhi had announced immediate and multi-sectoral assistance for relief and rescue under Operation Sagar Bandhu. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had visited Sri Lanka and announced a $450 million package for rebuilding and rehabilitation.
Earlier, India has been the ‘first responder’ for Sri Lanka with Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard assisting in Sri Lankan waters to avert large-scale environmental damage incidents such as MV XPress Pearl in May 2021 and MT New Diamond in September 2020.
During the two-day official visit, the first by an Indian vice-president to the island nation, he will also interact with leaders of the Indian-origin Tamil community and Tamil leaders from the Northern and Eastern regions of Sri Lanka, as per his office. (Express File Photo) 
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