Dissanayake's India visit marks positive shift in Sri Lanka's foreign ties

On Monday, statements from Mr Dissanayake assured India that he would not allow Sri Lankan territory to be used in a way that would be detrimental to India's interests

Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s choice of India for his first overseas visit signals a positive dynamic in ties between the two countries. Mr Dissanayake, who heads the Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the senior partner in the ruling National People’s Power coalition, was seen as ideologically leaning towards China. Beijing already wields considerable power over the island-nation’s political economy as its biggest bilateral lender and a top source of foreign direct investment. At the same time, the JVP has been anti-Indian, having led the opposition, often violent, to Indian intervention in Sri Lanka in the late