Jaishankar meets ex- Lankan Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa, discusses strengthening bilateral ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Sri Lanka's former strongman Ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday, November 19. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal Rajapaksa was also present during the meeting. Mahinda Rajapaksa had sought the resignation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday after his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa became the President of Sri Lanka. 

Read | Former Sri Lankan Prez Rajapaksa seeks resignation of PM Wickremesinghe

Read | Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's new President, to visit India on Nov 29: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar also met the newly sworn-in President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday, where he invited the latter to travel to India on November 29 on the extended invitation of PM Modi. The newly elected President defeated United National Party (UNP) candidate Sajith Premadasa by more than 13 lakh votes in the recently held presidential elections as per the country's election commission. Jaishankar took to Twitter to confirm the development, after the meeting, which came hours after President Rajapaksa assumed the office on Tuesday.

"President @GotabayaR has accepted PM@narendramodi’s invitation to visit India on 29th November," he tweeted. 

Read | Gotabaya Rajapaksa wins Sri Lanka's Presidential Election

Read | Gotabaya Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri Lankan President

On Monday, EAM Jaishankar met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan, Dr Tandi Dorji in New Delhi where they held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral relations of the two nations. Dorji had arrived to Delhi on November 17 on a five-day visit to India. Last week the External Affairs Minister had also met up with his Finland counterpart Pekka Haavisto in New Delhi to hold a delegation-level meeting in order to boost bilateral ties between the two countries.

Read | Bhutan foreign minister Tandi Dorji meets EAM S Jaishankar

Read | EAM Jaishankar meets Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto

Who is the new Lankan President? 

70-year-old Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the second member of the Rajapaksa family to become the president of Sri Lanka. His older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa served as president from 2005 to 2015. Rajapaksa is credited with helping end the island nation's long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during his tenure as the Defence Secretary. In 2006, he survived an assassination attempt carried out by the LTTE with minor injuries.

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