IndoDaily Home Page
SUPERPOWERS
Sri Lanka to host India PM Modi next month
Sri Lanka to host India PM Modi next month
by AFP Staff Writers
Colombo (AFP) Mar 24, 2025

Sri Lanka will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week, an official said Monday, as Colombo grapples with the competing interests of its powerful northern neighbour and China, its largest lender.

A member of leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office said Modi will be the first foreign head of government to visit the island nation under the new administration.

"It must be recalled that President Dissanayake's first foreign visit after his election in September was to New Delhi in December," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

He said Modi was due to hold bilateral talks on April 5 and travel to the northern Buddhist pilgrimage city of Anuradhapura before returning the following day.

Dissanayake travelled to Beijing in January for his second foreign visit as president, underscoring Sri Lanka's delicate balancing act of maintaining ties with the two regional rivals.

New Delhi has been concerned about China's growing influence in Sri Lanka, which it considers to be within its sphere of geopolitical influence.

China has emerged as Sri Lanka's largest single bilateral creditor, accounting for more than half of its $14 billion bilateral debt at the time the island defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2022.

Beijing was also the first to restructure its loans to Sri Lanka, a move that cleared the way for the island to emerge from that year's worst-ever economic meltdown.

During Dissanayake's visit to Beijing, the two countries agreed to continue maritime cooperation and signed several agreements on agriculture, tourism and media collaboration.

Unable to repay a massive Chinese loan in 2017, Sri Lanka handed over its southern port of Hambantota to a Beijing-based company on a 99-year lease for $1.12 billion.

New Delhi has objected to Chinese research vessels entering Sri Lanka's ports, accusing them of spying on Indian military installations, an allegation rejected by Beijing.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SUPERPOWERS
Japan, China in new spat after three-way talks
Tokyo (AFP) Mar 24, 2025
Japan and China became embroiled in a new spat on Monday with Tokyo accusing Beijing of misrepresenting its position after high-level weekend talks also involving South Korea. The discussions in Tokyo were billed as a chance to improve historically frosty relations against a backdrop of US trade tariffs, North Korea's missile activities and the Ukraine war. But Japan on Monday took exception to a Chinese statement that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that he " ... read more

SUPERPOWERS
Retrofits deliver major progress in reducing aircraft noise

PACIFIC project targets cleaner skies through fuel innovation

France's Dassault says upping Rafale warplane output

Electra secures 2200 aircraft pre-orders for hybrid-electric aviation leap

SUPERPOWERS
Chinese EV giant BYD surpasses rival Tesla with record 2024 revenue

EU tariffs not a deterrent, says Chinese EV maker XPeng

Chinese electric car maker BYD aims for Europe boost

Xiaomi posts 2024 revenue surge as EV push deepens

SUPERPOWERS
Solar and Wind Dominate New Power Installations in January as Biden Era Concludes

Sweden not doing enough to meet net-zero targets: study

UK energy minister in Beijing seeks to press China on emissions

'More and faster': UN calls to shrink buildings' carbon footprint

SUPERPOWERS
Top locations for ocean energy production worldwide revealed

Framatome and Perpetual Atomics to Scale Up Space Battery Production for Future Missions

Gas injection setup in new fusion system is guided by public-private research

Reusing old oil and gas wells may offer green energy storage solution

SUPERPOWERS
WPI researcher to explore efficient uranium extraction from industrial wastewater

Trump floats US takeover of Ukraine's NPPs; Zelensky plays down prospect

Trump floats US takeover of Ukraine nuclear plants

Japan begins its first dismantling of a commercial nuclear reactor

SUPERPOWERS
Atomic scale coating advances improve UV space telescope performance

ESA's Euclid spacecraft unveils 'gold mine' of new scientific data

New high-definition pictures of the baby universe

General Atomics marks completion of OTB satellite mission ahead of deorbit phase

SUPERPOWERS
China says it 'welcomes' visit by pro-Trump senator

Bangladesh's Yunus heads to China for first state visit

Rising seas test defenses of South American ports

Pro-Trump US senator meets Chinese vice premier

SUPERPOWERS
Thai ministers travel to Xinjiang to visit deported Uyghurs

Thailand says assured of Uyghurs' safety after US visa bans

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan sign border deal to boost regional stability

PKK must disarm 'immediately': Turkey defence ministry source

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.