Indian Vice President Visits Sri Lanka for Bilateral Talks

Indian Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan arrived in Colombo on Sunday morning for a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka. This marks his first official foreign tour since assuming office in September 2025 and is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Vice President to the island nation.

Key Meetings and Discussions

Radhakrishnan held talks with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat.

According to a statement from the vice president's office, both leaders discussed deepening India-Sri Lanka ties, which are described as rooted in shared history and people-to-people linkages.

A foreign ministry statement added that Radhakrishnan emphasized India's commitment to its neighborhood first policy and boosting cooperation between the two nations.

The Vice President is also scheduled to hold talks with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya during his stay.

Community Engagement and Diaspora

During the visit, Radhakrishnan's agenda includes significant community-focused engagements:

• Meeting with leaders of the Indian-origin Tamil community.
• Holding discussions with Tamil leaders from Sri Lanka's northern and eastern regions.
• Addressing the Indian diaspora at an event in Colombo.

The vice president will visit settlements developed under Phase III of India's Housing Project in Sri Lanka, which has constructed 4,000 houses with an additional 10,000 planned.

Background on Communities

The visit highlights two distinct Tamil-speaking communities in Sri Lanka:

• Indian-origin Tamils are descendants of workers brought by the British Empire to work on plantations in Sri Lanka's central highlands.
• Other Tamil-speaking communities in northern and eastern Sri Lanka trace their roots in the country back millennia.