Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Friday said the visit by Indian tourists has been a consistent contributor to the economic and forex inflows into Sri Lanka.

He made the comment on a day when Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited India.

“India is currently the largest source of inbound tourism into Sri Lanka. In this context, the Sri Lankan president has articulated his future plans for attracting a larger number of Indian tourists including through promotion of the Ramayana trail as well as Buddhist Hindu circuits and other places of religious worship in Sri Lanka,” the Foreign Secretary was quoted as saying by ANI.

Kwatra said a key outcome of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe “related to digital connectivity and the fintech connectivity is an agreement reached between NPCI International and Lanka pay on UPI based digital payments. This has multiple segments that it will feed into.”

He said: “Digitalization and digital public infrastructure and the role these two things can play in the development partnership between the two countries was also an important element of discussion between the two leaders.” 

The Foreign Secretary further said: “Tourism is only one part of it but it would essentially ease up the payment flow mechanisms between the two countries.”

The Sri Lankan leader met Indian PM Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his visit.