Balancing acts: PM Narendra Modi's visit strengthens Sri Lankan ties

As first foreign dignitary to visit Sri Lanka since election of supposedly China-leaning President Dissanayake, both countries have added an impetus to recalibrating relations that began three yrs ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day state visit to Sri Lanka underscores India’s geostrategic aim of recalibrating and strengthening relations in the strategically important Indian Ocean Region against the backdrop of China’s ascendant ambitions. After his two-day state visit last month to Mauritius and then attendance at the seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) summit in Thailand, his visit to Sri Lanka can be seen as a mutually balancing act among the key actors in the region. As the first foreign dignitary to visit Sri Lanka since the election of the supposedly China-leaning President Anura