British Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived here today ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) starting on Friday.
Hague’s arrival preceded that of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is due here tomorrow, British officials said.
They said Hague would visit the island’s south in addition to a series of engagements outside CHOGM.
Cameron is to visit Jaffna, becoming the first head of state to visit the cultural capital of the Tamil minority since Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948.
Sri Lankan officials said that External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will come later today to participate as the top Indian delegate at the summit.
Sri Lanka, which has downplayed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s decision to skip the summit due to domestic political compulsions in Tamil Nadu, looks forward to Khurshid’s presence as proof that India has not entirely boycotted the Colombo meet.