Foreign Secretary Shringla is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka

Foreign Secretary Shringla who is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka on Sunday visited the island nation’s Northern Province of Jaffna, where he was briefed about the development and rehabilitation of Palaly Airport under India’s grant assistance.

A twitter post of the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka informed about the arrival of the Foreign Secretary in Jaffna.

“Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla arrives at Jaffna. He was extended a warm welcome by Indian CG in Jaffna and Chairman, Northern Provincial Council, C.V.K Sivagnanam. Officials from civil aviation authority briefed FS about the development & rehabilitation of Palaly Airport,” the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted.

While in Jaffna, Shringla also visited the iconic Jaffna Cultural Centre built with Indian grant assistance. “The iconic, state of art cultural centre will help people of Northern Province to reconnect with their roots and in nurturing our shared cultural heritage,” the Indian High Commission said in its tweet.

Several projects under Indian’s grant assistance are being undertaken in the Northern Province of the country and they include the construction of Jaffna Cultural Centre at a cost of around INR 80 crore, construction of new classroom buildings for 27 schools, 3000 rainwater harvesting units and development of Palaly Airport in the Northern Province.

India had provided a grant of INR 11.83 Crore for the development of the Palaly airport which had started its international flights in 2019.

Earlier the Indian Foreign Secretary arrived in Colombo on October 2, on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Foreign Secretary Shringala’s visit will provide an opportunity to review the two countries’ bilateral ties, progress of ongoing bilateral projects and ongoing cooperation to tackle Covid-19 related disruptions.