National Security Advisor Ajit K. Doval arrived in Colombo on Thursday, according to official sources, to follow up on the ongoing Colombo Security Conclave initiative. He is also scheduled to meet with political leaders in the Sri Lankan Capital.
There is no official statement so far on Doval’s visit, taking place about three weeks before Sri Lanka’s Presidential elections scheduled on September 21. Colombo-based political sources, from different political parties, confirmed they were invited for meetings with the top Indian official.
On Friday, Doval is scheduled to review deliberations of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC), a regional initiative that began as a tri-lateral effort among India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. It has since expanded to include Mauritius and Bangladesh as members, and Seychelles as an observer.
The 6th NSA-level meeting was hosted by Mauritius in December 2023 and the next meeting of the security chiefs will be held in India later this year, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement last month. On July 10, the 8th Deputy NSA-level meeting of the CSC took place virtually. India, Mauritius, Maldives and Sri Lanka welcomed Bangladesh as the fifth member-State of the grouping set up to counter China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean Region. Seychelles participated as an observer.
Meera Srinivasan is The Hindu Correspondent in Colombo