Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate UN Vesak Day in Colombo on May 12, Sri Lanka’s Minister for Justice and Buddhasasana Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said here on Wednesday.
Mr Modi will also hold meetings with the Sri Lankan leadership. The two countries are likely to finalise development cooperation agreements, besides discussing key issues, including the Palk Bay fisheries conflict. The specifics of Mr. Modi’s visit and travel plans are being firmed up, say Colombo based sources.
This is Mr Modi’s second official visit to the island nation. In March 2015, he made the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka in nearly three decades. It pointed to renewed ties following a change in leadership here.
Vesak Day, also known as Buddha Poornima, is a traditional holiday commemorated by Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhala Buddhists. This year’s celebration, with the theme ‘Buddhist teachings for social justice and sustainable world peace’, will be marked through a series of programmes from May 12-14, in which leaders from the region are expected to participate.
