New Delhi:: The Ministry of Finance announced in a press release that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will leave for Sri Lanka on Wednesday for a three-day visit. Sitharaman will be the guest of honour at the ‘NAAM 200’ event, which marks the bicentenary of the arrival of India-origin Tamils (IOTs) to Sri Lanka. The event will take place at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo on November 2.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Sri Lankan Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Jeevan Thondaman, and other prominent leaders from various political parties will attend “NAAM 200.”
The event will also see the participation of representatives from Indian political parties and the Malaysian Tamil Congress, as per the Ministry of Finance press release. She will also address the India-Sri Lanka Business Summit on the theme ‘Enhancing Connectivity: Partnering for Prosperity.’
The summit is a joint initiative of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the Indo-Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and will be held in Colombo on November 2. Sitharaman will meet with Ranil Wickremesinghe and Dinesh Gunawardena during her visit.
She will also witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for solar electrification of religious places in Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Finance said in the press release, “The Union Finance Minister will witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for solar electrification of religious places in Sri Lanka, wherein India will allocate Rs 82.40 crores out of the GOI grant assistance of Rs 107.47 crores earmarked for the promotion of Buddhist ties.” Sitharaman will inaugurate SBI branches at Trincomalee and Jaffna on November 2 and 3.
She will also visit some of the sacred and cultural sites in Sri Lanka, such as Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) in Kandy, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, Thirukoneswaram Temple in Trincomalee and Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in Jaffna. In addition, she will visit Lanka IOC oil tank farms, Jaffna Cultural Centre and Jaffna Public Library, according to a Ministry of Finance press release. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had visited Sri Lanka in October.
He had attended the 23rd Council of Ministers (COM) meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), hosted by Sri Lanka. He had also called on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the President’s Secretariat.