Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumar Dissanayake in New Delhi on Friday. | Photo credit: Presidential Media Unit, Colombo
On the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took “stock” of progress in bilateral ties, according to the leaders’ social media posts on Friday (February 20, 2026).
“Strengthening friendship with a valued neighbor! Great to meet President Anura Kumar Dissanayake in Delhi. We reviewed recent progress in India-Sri Lanka relations. Also discussed avenues of cooperation in areas of energy, connectivity, infrastructure, healthcare, expertise, culture, blue economy and more,” Modi said in his post.
“The leaders held wide-ranging discussions on strengthening our historic ties and expanding economic, trade and cultural cooperation,” President Dissanayake said. Moreover, he thanked India for its “extraordinary support” during the recent Cyclone Ditwa.
There is no mention of India-backed projects
The messages did not mention any specific India-backed project or the Tamil question – and its pending political solution – which India has periodically raised with the Sri Lankan leadership in the past. In the wake of Cyclone Ditwa, which ravaged the island nation and claimed 650 lives, External Affairs Minister S. The leaders met less than two months after Jaishankar and Mr. Modi visited Colombo as special representatives. Another 173 people went missing. The climate shock event that hit Sri Lanka in late November 2025 was one of the worst the island has seen since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In addition to supporting Sri Lanka in immediate relief and rescue efforts, India has pledged a $450 million “reconstruction package”.
Prime Minister Modi visited Sri Lanka in April last year when the two sides signed seven MoUs in areas such as defense cooperation, energy, digitalisation and health. His interaction with the Sri Lankan leader also came a fortnight after a visit by Tilvin Silva, general secretary of Mr Dissanayake’s Janata Vimukti Peramuna (JVP or People’s Liberation Front), which leads the country’s ruling National People’s Power alliance.
Published – February 20, 2026 04:59 pm IST
