Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Bandaranaike International Airport on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 9, 2019. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sri Lanka on a short visit on Sunday where he paid tribute to the victims of the Easter terror attacks which killed over 250 people and injured over 500. (Xinhua/Gayan Sameera)
COLOMBO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sri Lanka on a short visit on Sunday where he paid tribute to the victims of the Easter terror attacks which killed over 250 people and injured over 500.
After being welcomed by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Modi visited the St. Anthony's Church in capital Colombo where he paid his respect to the victims of the blasts.
The St. Anthony's Church was one of the three churches attacked by a suicide bomber on April 21 along with three luxury hotels.
"I am confident Sri Lanka will rise again. Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka," Modi said on his official twitter account after visiting the church.
Modi later met President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo where both leaders pledged to work collectively to eliminate terrorism from the region.
Modi also held discussions with opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sampanthan, and later addressed the Indian community in Colombo.
