Indian Premier Narendra Modi lands in Sri Lanka for one-day visit

India's re-elected Premier Narendra Modi touched down at the Bandaranaike International Airport for a one-day visit in Sri Lanka at around 11 am today (Jun 9).

The Premier arrived on a Boeing-737 flight owned by Air India, India's national air carrier. Another flight of a similar model carrying a security detail of Prime Minister Modi also touched down simultaneously with the other flight.

Modi, who is on his second state visit after his re-election to office, was welcomed by his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe. Several other ministers, state officials and representatives from the Indian High Commission too were present at the airport.

The Indian Prime Minister, arrived with a 59-member delegation and is expected to call on President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan.

It is reported that Modi's visit came upon an invitation extended by the Sri Lankan President who took part at the swearing in ceremony of the Indian Prime Minister in Hyderabad, India recently.

A special traffic plan will also be in effect across the country owing to the Indian Prime Minister's visit.

This is Modi's third visit to Sri Lanka.

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