Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa will visit India from 19-21 September to lay the foundation stone for the Centre for Buddhist Studies, in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh. The Prime Minister of Bhutan, Jigme Thinley, will also be present take part in the ceremony.
During the course of his visit, the Sri Lankan President will hold meetings with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
This will be Rajapaksa’s first meeting with an Indian Prime Minister, since India voted for the anti-Sri Lanka resolution at the UNHRC in March. The resolution stated that Sri Lankan troops deliberately targeted civilians during the last phase of the civil war with the LTTE, which ended in 2009.
Despite the UNRC vote, many high-profile visits have been made post-March, by Indian leaders to Sri Lanka, thereby rekindling the India’s relationship with its island neighbour.
However, the recent attacks on Sri Lankan pilgrims in Tamil Nadu, which reflected anti-Sinhala sentiments, have muddied the waters.