The newly-elected Sri Lankan President also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
Newly elected President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who arrived in India for a two-day visit on Friday, received ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He is on a visit to India till November 30.
President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa upon his arrival at Rashtrapati Bhawan was received by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Happy to receive Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his first overseas visit as the President of Sri Lanka. His visit is a testimony to the time-tested ties between India and Sri Lanka and will help strengthen our bonds as well as energise our partnership," PM Modi tweeted.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa further held talks with PM Modi at the Hyderabad House.
Speaking on his visit, President Gotabaya said, "During my tenure as President, I want to take Sri Lanka-India relationship to a higher level. The two countries have a long-standing friendship. We need to work together for economic development and security of our people."
The newly-elected Sri Lankan President also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
Later, India's National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval called on Lankan President Gotabaya as both discussed issues of national interest and bilateral cooperation.
Gotabaya's visit is a much-watched one given India's neighbourhood policy and New Delhi's outreach to newly elected governments in the region. In fact, India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar made an unscheduled visit to the Island country last week to physically hand over the PM Modi's invite to Gotabaya to visit India.
During the meet, India also called on the new leadership to continue the process of national reconciliation in regards to the minority Tamils.
Last week, Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "EAM also expected and he conveyed to President Rajapaksa India’s expectation that the Sri Lankan government will take forward the process of national reconciliation to arrive at a solution that meets the aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, peace and dignity".
Gotabaya, as the defence secretary in 2009, played a key role in the defeat of LTTE militant group but that also raised issues of human right violations. And then China is the dragon in the room when it comes to Bejing's growing footprint in South Asia. New Delhi has dismissed such concerns.
"Our relationship with Sri Lanka or for that matter with any other country is not dependent on a third country, it stands independently. We enjoy a historical and very close relationship with Sri Lanka and we are looking forward and we will work very closely with the new Sri Lankan government", Raveesh Kumar said.
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 "PM Modi and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya")
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