Top ministers and Indian diaspora welcome Modi

'Landed in Colombo. Grateful to the ministers and dignitaries who welcomed me at the airport. Looking forward to the programmes in Sri Lanka,' PM Modi posted on X

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Hundreds of locals and members of the Indian diaspora community braved heavy rain to give a rousing reception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Colombo late Saturday evening as he arrived from Bangkok on a State Visit at the invitation of Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

In a special welcome, top ministers from Dissanayake's cabinet, including Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, Labour Minister Anil Jayantha, Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Women and Child Affairs Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj and Science and Technology Minister Chrishantha Abeysena welcomed PM Modi at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport as people gathered outside the airport and at the hotel amid heavy rain in the Lankan capital.

Prime Minister Modi travelled to the island nation straight after attending the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit in Bangkok and will return home on April 6.

"Landed in Colombo. Grateful to the ministers and dignitaries who welcomed me at the airport. Looking forward to the programmes in Sri Lanka," PM Modi posted on X after arriving in Colombo.