Sri Lanka president holds up umbrella for Modi during rains. See photo

The Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena held up an umbrella for PM Narendra Modi as it rained during the latters visit to Sri Lanka The SL president also went on to share a picture of the same He went on to caption the photoThank you narendramodi for your brief but highly productive visit to our country today thus proving you are a true friend of ours I highly appreciate and value your kind gesture support and cooperation extended to Sri LankaThank you narendramodi for your brief but highly productive visit to our country today thus proving you are a true friend of ours I highly appreciate and value your kind gesture support and cooperation extended to Sri Lanka pictwittercomXiqoEMj4C4mdash Maithripala Sirisena MaithripalaS June 9 2019Commenting on the incident Raveesh Kumar Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted Together with you come rain or shine PM Modi had visited Sri Lanka after the MaldivesPrime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said he had an immensely fruitful meetings with Sri Lankas top leadership including President Maithripala Sirisena during which the two sides agreed that terrorism is a joint threat that needs collective and focussed action weeks after the island nation witnessed the worst jihadi attackModi the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter terror attacks on April 21 was accorded a red carpet welcome His visit is considered as a sign of Indias affirmation of solidarity with Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the attacks the worst in the history of the island nation that killed 258 people including 11 IndiansMet President MaithripalaS our second meeting in 10 days President Sirisena and I agreed that terrorism is a joint threat that needs collective and focussed action Reiterated Indias commitment to partner with Sri Lanka for a shared secure and prosperous future Modi tweeted after his talks with President SirisenaExternal Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the two leaders discussed bilateral issues of mutual interest A banquet was hosted in honour of Prime Minister Modi by President SirisenaPrime Minister Modis visit to Colombo comes at a time when China is increasing its forays in South Asia including in Sri Lanka by investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects raising concerns in New DelhiModi also held fruitful discussions with his Lankan counterpart Ranil WickremesingheAssured Indias full support to further strengthen bilateral development partnership including through peopleoriented projects in Sri Lanka Modi said after his meeting with WickremesingheModi also held an extensive meeting with the Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed the need for close collaboration between the two countries in the fields of counterterrorism security and economic developmentHad an extensive meeting with the Leader of Opposition Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa We discussed the need for close collaboration between India and Sri Lanka in the fields of counterterrorism security and economic development Modi tweetedRajapaksa the former Sri Lankan president led his country to a decisive victory against the Tamil Tigers in 2009The LTTE collapsed in 2009 after the Lankan army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran The war is thought to have killed between 70000 and 80000 people A Tamil National Alliance delegation led by R Sampanthan also called on the prime minister and congratulated him on his electoral victoryModi termed his visit to Colombo immensely fruitful Sri Lanka has a special place in our hearts I assure my sisters and brothers of Sri Lanka that India will always be there with you and support your nations progress Thank you for the memorable welcome and hospitality he said before leaving the island nationEarlier the prime ministers entourage made a detour to St Anthonys church one of the sites of the horrific Easter Sunday attacks on their way from airport to the Presidential SecretariatHe paid tributes to the victims of the deadly terror strikes at the church and said the cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri LankaI am confident Sri Lanka will rise again Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka he saidNine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through St Anthonys Church in Colombo St Sebastians Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa and three highend hotels frequented by tourists in the countrys deadliest violence since the devastating civil war ended in 2009The Islamic State has claimed the attacks but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaath NTJ for the bombingsAfter paying tributes to the victims of the Easter attacks at the Catholic church Modi arrived at the Presidents House where he was accorded a ceremonial reception Sirisena held an umbrella to provide cover to himself and Modi from rainModi too took to Twitter to share some photos about his tripI had a short but immensely fruitful Sri Lanka visit Sri Lanka has a special place in our hearts I assure my sisters and brothers of Sri Lanka that India will always be there with you and support your nationrsquos progress Thank you for the memorable welcome and hospitality pictwittercompeIkXhyahHmdash Narendra Modi narendramodi June 9 2019Modi also planted a sapling of an evergreen Ashoka tree at the Presidents HouseHe also addressed the Indian community in Lanka and said that Indias image has tremendously transformed in the last five years He hailed the contributions made by the Indian diaspora to project a good image of IndiaModi also received a special gift a replica of the Samadhi Buddha Statue from special friend SirisenaA special gift from a special friend President MaithripalaS presented PM narendramodi the Samadhi Buddha Statue This is considered to be one of the best sculptures in the Anuradhapura era The original statue was sculptured between the 4th and 7th centuries AD the Prime Ministers Office tweetedThis replica of the Samadhi Buddha Statue has been hand carved using white teak This masterpiece has taken almost two years to complete The meditation pose is known as Dhyana Mudra it addedUnder Modi the bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka have touched a new high including in the areas of security cooperation trade and cultural ties Modi visited Sri Lanka twice earlier too in March 2015 and May 2017Under the Modi government India handed over the first lot of houses built under a USD 350 million project for people mostly Tamils who live in Sri Lankas tea plantation areasInputs from PTI