"We want to nurture this relationship between Sri Lanka and India and establish ties in which my government's priority is to work for the progress of all Indians and all Sri Lankans", he said.
Our region is blessed to have given to the world the invaluable gift of Buddha and his teachings, he said, pointing out the significance of the shared heritage between the two peoples. "Ours is a friendship that lives in the hearts of our people and in the fabric of our societies", PM Modi said.
Later, when he addressed the Sri Lankan Tamils in the presence of Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena and community leaders then he soothed the emotions of Sri Lankan government by saying that "I am aware the Government of Sri Lanka is taking active steps to improve your living conditions including a 5-year National Plan of Action".
Kandy: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic here which houses the relic of the tooth of Lord Buddha. PM Modi took part in the inauguration of the International Vesak Day, which is the biggest Buddhist festival.
You will find in India a friend and partner that will support your nation-building endeavours, he said. Under this 700 scholarships are available to students either in Sri Lanka or in India.
We believe that free flow of trade, investments, technology, and ideas across our borders will be to our mutual benefit.
Fury: No warm-up before fighting Joshua
He said: "I was screaming [and] pulling what little hair I've got left out [but Joshua] showed a lot in that fight". The London Olympic gold medallist is expected to defend those titles in October or November.
After dedicating a 150-bed hospital constructed with Indian aid, he said he is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit "this lovely region".
Distinct from the Tamils of Sri Lanka's north and east, where the island nation's civil war broke out, "upcountry Tamils" are of recent Indian origin. The Sri Lankan prime minister will visit Beijing to attend the Belt and Road Forum on May 14 and 15.
A group of Sri Lankan visitors at the new deep water shipping port watch Chinese dredging ships work in Hambantota, 240 km (150 miles) southeast of Colombo, March 24, 2010.
He said it is his honour to speak with them and added that, "we need to strengthen, not separate, (these) threads of unity and harmony". "Diversity calls for celebration and not confrontation", he told them. "Language is not just a tool of communication but it also unifies cultures and people", he said.
The almost one million ethnic Tamils in central Sri Lanka are descendants of indentured labour brought to work in coffee, rubber and tea plantations by British colonial rulers in the 19th century.
Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister.
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