At the invitation of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament Om Birla, a 16-member multiparty delegation led by the Speaker of the Sri Lanka Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana visited India from 16-20 December 2023.
During the visit which was facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, Speaker Yapa Abeywardana was hosted at the Parliament of India where the delegation witnessed both the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and the Lok Sabha (Lower House) in session. In addition to the meeting with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Speaker Yapa Abeywardana also had bilateral meetings with the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar and Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
During the meetings with the Indian dignitaries Speaker Yapa Abeywardana expressed Sri Lanka’s appreciation for India’s generosity to overcome challenges during the recent economic crisis. They discussed the ambitious agenda based on the India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision document signed during President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India earlier this year, which establishes the trajectory through connectivity between the countries. Avenues for enhancing collaboration in the sectors of trade, investment, tourism, pharmaceuticals, education, defence and cooperation in the international fora were also discussed.
During the visit the delegation also had the opportunity to visit the States of Maharashtra and Assam for official engagements. In Assam the Speaker of Sri Lanka was hosted by the Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly Biswajit Daimary.
The visit will pave the way to enhance and strengthen cooperation between the Parliaments based on democratic values shared by the two nations.
High Commission of Sri Lanka
New Delhi
21 December 2023
