Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to Sri Lanka in two years would hopefully launch a productive new phase in bilateral relations. In his first visit during March 2015, Modi promised to end India’s prolonged neglect of the very special relationship with Sri Lanka. Many reasons, including narrow domestic political considerations of previous governments, led to Delhi’s monumental errors in dealing with Colombo.
This had huge costs — in terms of generating a trust deficit and entrenched negative perceptions of India as a regional bully, insensitive to Lankan nationalism and sovereignty. Since the first visit, there has been an intensification of sustained high-level political engagement with Lanka. The Modi government also put new emphasis on expanding economic engagement with Sri Lanka.













