By making Delhi the destination for his first visit after assuming office, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has underlined his intention to build a close relationship with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also confirmed his state visit to Sri Lanka in March, which will be the first bilateral tour by an Indian PM since Rajiv Gandhi travelled to Colombo in 1987 to sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord with the then Sri Lankan president, J.R. Jayewardene.
Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka will coincide with the 28th United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva, where progress in the investigation into the country’s human rights record under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be reviewed. India will have to tread carefully as the Sirisena government favours a domestic investigation and inquiry, albeit with international support, into the alleged human rights violations. In their bilateral talks, Modi would have reminded the Sri Lankan president of the importance of national reconciliation and reconstruction in the Northern Province. Modi is expected to visit the Tamil-majority Northern Province during his trip, which will send a positive signal to Sri Lanka’s Tamils. It will also serve as a polite yet firm reminder to Sirisena of his own stated desire “to bring together the minds of the people of the north and south”.
