His remarks came after the bilateral talks held with his Sri Lankan counterpart Aruni Wijewardane, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Indian foreign secretary is in Colombo for a two-day official visit aimed at laying the groundwork for Wickremesinghe’s upcoming trip to New Delhi on July 21. This will be the president’s first official visit to India after taking office last year.

Kwatra told the media that his discussions with the Sri Lankan leadership and with the Foreign Ministry were essentially focused on trying to ensure that the upcoming visit of the Sri Lankan president would be “a point of positive transformation” in the bilateral relations.

The two sides have also discussed the key areas of partnership that India and Sri Lanka could progress ahead of the visit.