Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to visit Sri Lanka's Jaffna today

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will visit the capital of Sri Lanka's northern province, Jaffna dominated by the Tamil minority and will also travel to the Temple of the Tooth, officials said

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Sunday will visit the capital of Sri Lanka's northern province, Jaffna dominated by the Tamil minority and will also travel to the historic Temple of the Tooth, the foremost shrine of the island's Buddhist majority, officials said.

Shringla on Saturday began his four-day visit to Sri Lanka during which he will meet the top leadership, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa., and review the bilateral ties between India and the island nation.

He would travel to the central provincial capital of Kandy where he will be received at the historic Temple of the Tooth, the foremost shrine of the island's Buddhist majority, they said.

He will then proceed to the eastern port district of Trincomalee and the northern capital of Jaffna dominated by the Tamil minority.

At all three provincial visits, Shringla would be visiting the Indian funded projects supervised by the Indian mission in the country.

Officials said his high-level engagements in Colombo are scheduled for tomorrow.

He would be calling on the three Rajapaksa brothers who are the President, Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of the country.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was in the US for the UN General assembly sessions, will return today.

In addition to the Rajapaksa trio, Shringla would receive a delegation of the main Tamil party, Tamil National Alliance for discussions.

India has been consistently calling upon Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitments to protect the interests of the Tamil community and preserve the island nation's character as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.

The Tamil community in Sri Lanka has been demanding the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that provides for devolution of power to it. The 13th amendment was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.

He would also call on the Foreign Minister GL Peiris.

The Indian foreign secretary who is in his first visit to Sri Lanka was received at the airport by his counterpart Jayanath Colombage last night.

The visit will contribute towards the long-standing multifaceted relations and enhance bilateral partnership between the two countries, the foreign ministry said.