Sri Lanka Prez Rajapaksa says both India and his country need to work together on issues related to security & overall welfare of the people of the two countries.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Friday he will strive to take his country’s relationship with India to a “very high level”. He arrived in New Delhi on Thursday at the special invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a 3-day official visit with a high level team. This is his first overseas trip since he took over as President ten days ago.  His delegation included foreign secretary Ravinatha Aryasingha. Both India and Sri Lanka need to work together on issues related to security and overall welfare of the people of the two countries, he said while speaking to reporters after a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met newly-elected Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa during which a range of bilateral and regional issues were discussed, officials said.

The Sri Lankan will hold bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi tomorrow. Both leaders are likely to discuss further areas of cooperation and ways to strengthen existing bilateral relations between the two neighbours. A host of issues including stability in Indian Ocean region, economic cooperation and the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka are likely to figure during the talks. The Sri Lankan President will also meet President Ramnath Kovind in addition to other important engagements.”We need to work together for the benefit of the people of India and Sri Lanka, President Rajapaksa said.Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday said he would strive to take his country’s bilateral relationship with India to a “very high level”. Speaking to reporters after a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, he said that both India and Sri Lanka need to work together on issues relating to security and overall welfare of the people of the two countries. The Sri Lankan leader said his expectations from the visit were very high. “During my tenure as president, I want to bring the relationship between India and Sri Lanka to a very high level. We have a long-standing relationship historically as well as politically,” Rajapaksa said. Both the countries need to work together on key issues like security, economic development and welfare of the people of India and Sri Lanka, he said. The Sri Lankan leader was given a ceremonial welcome in the morning at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were present on the occasion.