Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe arrived in India on Tuesday for a three day official visit.

He met Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. His visit has come at a time when Sri Lanka along with other member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) boycotted the Summit scheduled in Islamabad condemning terrorism in the region. 

The majority pull out of the countries have been unprecedented in the history of the regional grouping. The Indian quest to isolate Pakistan regionally came after the attack masterminded by Jaish-e-Mohammad on the Army base resulted in the death of 19 soldiers, the New Indian Express said.

"This year's SAARC Summit is in jeopardy due to the war prevailing on the border. However, as the SAARC plays an important role, carrying out the Summit is a matter of great importance. I explained that while the failure of SAARC to deliver acceptable results for all members would spell out a bleak future, it would also compel Sri Lanka to look towards other viable options," Wickramasinghe said in his speech in New Zealand.

During his three-day visit, Wickramasinghe will also hold meetings Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

Before leaving for Colombo, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister will be attending the plenary session of India Economic Summit.

This is Wickramasinghe’s second visit to India after taking over as the Prime Minister of the Southern neighbor.