India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is expected to visit Sri Lanka within the next couple of months while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to follow later, Daily Mirror learns.

Ms. Swaraj was previously opposition leader in the Lok Sabha. She headed a parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka in 2012, and undertook a fact finding mission in the Northern and Eastern Provinces where the delegates interacted with a wide cross-section of society.

She visited Batticaloa and Jaffna and met representatives of war-affected people and civil society leaders. In Hatton, she visited several Indian-funded projects for the benefit of Tamils of Indian origin living in the upcountry. At the end of their visit, her delegation also met President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sri Lankan political leaders have welcomed her appointment as India’s External Affairs Minister.

During her visit, she urged the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to join the Parliamentary Select Committee mandated to come up with proposals to resolve the national question. At the end of her visit, Ms. Swaraj said a solution based on the 13th Amendment or beyond could bring lasting peace to Sri Lanka and urged the Sri Lankan Government to persuade the TNA to join the PSC.

Meanwhile, political party leaders are hoping to engage with the Indian Government. United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is planning to visit New Delhi while t he TNA has sought meetings with Mr. Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jeyaram.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka