PM Modi may visit Sri Lanka in April, club it with BIMSTEC meet in Thailand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to Sri Lanka on April 5 and club it with his trip to Thailand for the Bimstec summit on April 4.

The visit will focus on a range of issues, including connectivity and economic ties, and take forward Sri Lankan President Aruna Dissanayake's December trip to Delhi. Modi has visited the island nation in 2015, 2017, 2019 as the PM and this will be his maiden trip to Colombo since the change of guard.

On the connectivity front, a new ferry route between India's Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka's Talaimanner is being discussed. Another proposal on the table is a multi-product petroleum pipeline that links Nagapattinam to Trincomalee, with Indian Oil Corporation playing a key role. There is also a proposal for power grid connectivity between the two neighbours, ET has learnt.