Indian PM Modi visits the Sri Lankan parliament

(13 Mar 2015) India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian leader to visit Sri Lanka in 28 years, reciprocating the trip to India last month by Sri Lanka's new president. Modi said that he hoped his country's neighbour would build a future for all its citizens including its minority Tamil community. Modi was speaking in Sri Lanka's parliament on Friday where he was welcomed by President Maithripala Sirisena, who assumed office in January. "(I) conveyed our sincere support and good wishes for Sri Lanka's new journey of peace, reconciliation and progress," Modi said. Modi and Sirisena held talks and signed several bilateral pacts. Modi called for full implementation of Sri Lanka's 13th amendment to its constitution, that calls for greater devolution of powers to ethnic minorities. The amendment was brought in by an Indo-Sri Lankan accord in 1987. Sirisena is geared toward ethnic reconciliation with his country's Tamil minority. Colombo fought a decades-long war with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) from the Tamil minority until 2009. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...