Srilanka, April 13 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka, (April 4-6), his first after 2019, demonstrated, beyond optics, the close ties between the two countries. Colombo, under the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People's Power (NPP) regime, is serious about improving relations with New Delhi.

This was evident from the conferment of its highest honour for foreign leaders on PM Modi and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation, billed as the first of its kind in bilateral ties. The JVP's ascension to power, following Anura Kumara Dissanayake's victory in the Presidential poll in September 2024, and the NPP's resounding Parliamentary Election victory two months later, gave room to the percep...