The North News
New Delhi, April 5
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Saturday conferred with the Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana, the island nation’s highest civilian honour awarded to non-Sri Lankans. The award, presented by President Dissanayake during Modi’s official visit to Colombo, underscores the deepening strategic, cultural and economic ties between the two South Asian neighbours.
In a post on social media platform X, Modi described the award as a “matter of immense pride” and dedicated it to India’s 1.4 billion citizens. “It symbolises the deep-rooted friendship and historic ties between the people of India and Sri Lanka,” he wrote, expressing gratitude to the Sri Lankan president, government, and people.
Modi’s visit saw the signing of seven key bilateral Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), ranging from energy connectivity to digital transformation and defence cooperation. Notably, India, Sri Lanka and the UAE agreed to develop Trincomalee as a strategic energy hub. Other agreements focused on sharing India’s population-scale digital solutions, defence collaboration, health and medicine cooperation, and pharmacopoeial standards.
Several infrastructure and energy projects were also launched or inaugurated, including the upgraded Maho-Omanthai railway line, a virtual groundbreaking for the Sampur solar power project, and the supply of rooftop solar systems to 5,000 religious institutions across Sri Lanka.
The Prime Minister also announced a capacity-building programme covering 700 Sri Lankans annually and grant assistance for the restoration of cultural and religious sites, including the Thirukoneswaram and Sita Eliya temples. Highlighting shared Buddhist heritage, he confirmed India would send sacred relics of Lord Buddha to Sri Lanka for display during International Vesak Day 2025.
The visit concluded with bilateral agreements on debt restructuring, marking a significant step in economic cooperation and financial stability for the island nation, still recovering from recent fiscal crises.
