Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday said that he would work with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for peace and prosperity for both the countries and the region.

Thanking Prime Minister Modi for his congratulatory message, Mahindra, who was sworn in on Thursday as Sri Lankan premier by his younger brother and President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, said the two countries will continue to work closely to strengthen the bilateral ties. “Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Let us continue to promote our shared partnership for peace and prosperity for both our countries and the region,” he said in a tweet.

Earlier, Modi congratulated Rajapaksa on being sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, saying he looks forward to work with him to further strengthen relations between the two nations. “Congratulations and best wishes to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. I look forward to working closely with him for further strengthening fraternal India-Sri Lanka ties,” the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter.

In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said it was ready to work very closely with the new government in Sri Lanka and expressed hope that it will fulfil aspirations of the minority Tamil community living in the island country.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs underlined India’s willingness to work closely with the new government. President Gotabhaya has accepted Prime Minister Modi’s invitation to visit India on November 29.

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