File photo of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. PHOTO: AFP
"I look forward to welcoming President Sirisena later this month," Modi said on his Twitter account in a goodwill message to Sri Lanka as the former British colony celebrated Independence Day.
"The bonds of history, culture & shared values that we share are unbreakable," Modi added.
On their Independence Day, my greetings to people of Sri Lanka.The bonds of history, culture & shared values that we share are unbreakable.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 4, 2015
There was no immediate confirmation of the dates from Indian officials but Sri Lankan sources said Sirisena was set to travel to New Delhi on February 16 for a two-day visit which would also include a pilgrimage to a religious site.
Sirisena has previously said India would be his first port of call as president.
Ties between India and its southern neighbour Sri Lanka were often tense during the decade-long rule of Sirisena's predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse, who infuriated New Delhi by openly courting China.
Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh pointedly boycotted a 2013 Commonwealth summit that was hosted by Rajapakse.
Sirisena's victory over Rajapakse in last month's presidential election has been seen as a chance for the two countries to reboot ties as Modi seeks to reassert India's dominance in its own backyard.
Sri Lanka's new Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera travelled to New Delhi in his first week in office, saying that his visit "reflects our priorities".
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1732707402-0/Untitled-design-(8)1732707402-0-270x192.webp "south korean man convicted for gaining weight to dodge military service")
Rajapakse a chinese and Pakistani puppet. Good riddance.
Manmohan boycotted commonwealth ceremony in srilanka because his was coalition government standing with the support of TN-Tamil parties . He was warned if he goes there they will pull back support to Central govt. All indian states supports srilanka. Except one state -Tamil Nadu which had problem because rajpaksha killed thousands of innocent srilankan Tamils too with extremists. For which UN probe on. Srilanka understood our compulsion vis via Tamil Nadu politicians. Now modi has majority govt he's not dependent on TN state parties. It's a relief to both india and srilanka. Present srilanka govt has promised rehab and reconciliation so TN state govt is nuetral to them. Plus present govt is pro Usa,Pro india than pro China.