New Delhi: New Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena will pay a four-day state visit to India from Feb 15 -- his first visit abroad since he won the Jan 8 presidential elections.
Sirisena will hold official talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Feb 16 and attend the presidential banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Sirisena will also visit Bodhgaya in Bihar and the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh.
Modi Wednesday tweeted that he was looking forward to Sirisena's visit.
Modi said India and Sri Lanka shared "bonds of history, culture and shared values".
Sirisena, who defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa last month, has said he was keen to further boost relations with India.
After his election, Modi had congratulated him and invited him to visit New Delhi.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera came to India in his first week in office and met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
"India looks forward to engaging with President Sirisena across a spectrum of issues," external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
He added that India hopes the talks will further strengthen bilateral ties.
Ties between India and Sri Lanka had gone through strain under Rajapaksa, especially over the arrest and incarceration of Indian fishermen. The Sirisena government has released all Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture.
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