(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) –Minister Namal Rajapaksa, who led a delegation of Buddhist monks on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka for the opening of the Kushinagar International Airport in India, called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday(20).
Minister Namal Rajapaksa and the delegation left for India this morning on the first international flight to the Kushinagar International Airport to attend the official opening of the Airport by Prime Minister Modi. Kushinagar, where Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana, is of great significance to the Sri Lankan Buddhists
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated India’s 29th international airport in Kushinagar in the presence of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son and a 125-member delegation.
Minister Namal Rajapaksa officially presented the first copy of the English Sinhala and Tamil translations of the Bhagavad Gita to the Prime Minister of India when he met the Premier after the event.
Minister Namal Rajapaksa has told the Indian Prime Minister that the Hindu scripture was prepared on the instructions and guidance of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It also carried a message from the Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Prime Minister of India as well as Minister Namal Rajapaksa had posted a note on their official Twitter accounts regarding this meeting.
“The greatest gift Sri Lanka received from India is Buddhism! We have always shared a close relationship between our nations & our people! It is the vision of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen this bond between our nations & our people,” Namal Rajapaksa tweeted.
The Indian Prime Minister said on his Twitter account that it was a pleasure to meet Namal Rajapaksa and that relations between India and Sri Lanka were strengthening in various fields.
“India-Sri Lanka ties are getting stronger and stronger across different sectors. This augurs well for the people of our nations,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted.
“The teachings of Lord Buddha unite our nations and make our planet better,” Modi added.
