India will be the first foreign country to have a proper dialogue with Sri Lanka's one-week old government when External Affairs Minister Subramanya Jaishankar visits Sri Lanka this weekend. He will call on newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who assumed office on September 23. He will also have discussions with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

Both the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Dr Amarasuriya, and Dr Jaishankar have a lot in common as both are alumni of Delhi University with a background in research-oriented academics. While Jaishankar did his Bachelor's degree at St Stephen's College, Amarasuriya did her sociology honours degree at across-the-road Hindu College. Both of them completed their PhDs from other universities. 

Jaishankar's visit to Colombo would be the first by any foreign minister after the presidential elections last month.  The visit will be closely watched as it will include high-level engagement between India and Sri Lanka after leftist leader Dissanayake came to power. 

Reinforcing Indian commitment 

Within hours of swearing-in by Dissanayake, India’s High Commissioner Santosh Jha called on the new president. They had their second meeting yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. Jha conveyed India’s readiness to support Sri Lanka’s development process in any way possible, while also appreciating his anti-corruption agenda. He also highlighted the importance of maintaining a continuous and stable partnership as close neighbouring countries with historical ties. 

Analysts believe that Jaishanakar's visit will be a significant opportunity for India to reinforce its commitment to providing development support for its strategically situated Indian Ocean neighbor amid worries about a shift in its foreign policy under the new president.

Earlier this year, New Delhi noted the rapid rise of Dissanayake's National People's Power (NPP) of which his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) holds the leadership and decided to invite JVP leaders to Delhi for a dialogue. Dissanayake, together with Herath, the current foreign minister, visited New Delhi and reportedly settled certain differences over JVP's one-time deep resentment against Indian "hegemony". Discussions held with Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were described later as "most cordial, fruitful and constructive". 

Praised Indian assistance

After Dissanayake became president, Jaishankar was quoted by media as saying that, “India doesn’t expect him to be hostile in the manner the new Maldives president (Mohamed Muizzu) was initially or the way the interim government in Bangladesh has been.” 

During his talks with Indian officials, Dissanayake is said to have praised India’s $4 billion assistance that helped bail Sri Lanka out of a financial crisis. Before becoming president, he also gave an assurance that he won’t be letting Sri Lanka’s land, sea and airspace to be used against India.

Dissanayake recently said that he views both India and China as valued partners and that he doesn’t want Sri Lanka to get involved in any “geopolitical fight”. India played a major role in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring process and Jaishankar is likely to assure continuous support in his meeting with Sri Lankan leaders after he lands in Colombo October 4.

(The author, a former Sri Lankan diplomat, is a political and strategic affairs commentator. Views are personal. He can be contacted at sugeeswara@gmail.com)