Colombo, Feb 9 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan arrived in Jaffna on Thursday on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka during which he would meet with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and other top leaders, officials said.

During the visit, Murugan will dedicate to the people of Sri Lanka the Jaffna Cultural Centre, the foundation stone of which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.

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The minister received a traditional welcome on his arrival in Jaffna. He also paid his respects to Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam at India Corner in Jaffna Public library, the Indian High Commission here said.

Murugan met with Governor Jeevan Thiyagarajah and underlined the importance India attaches to Jaffna and the region in development partnership, the mission said.

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He emphasised that India will continue to be guided by the same spirit under Prime Minister Modi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, it added.

"Demonstration of #India's ongoing commitment to the people of #SriLanka. MOS @Murugan_MOS handed over dry rations to 250 needy families in #Jaffna," the mission said in a tweet.

The Jaffna Cultural Centre is a magnificent example of the India-Sri Lanka development partnership.

It was conceived as a reconciliation project primarily aimed at expanding the cultural infrastructure for the people of the Northern Province.

The state-of-the-art centre consists of multiple facilities such as a museum, an advanced theatre-style auditorium that can accommodate more than 600 people, a 11-storey learning tower and a public square that can also double up as an amphitheatre, the statement said.

He is on a four-day visit and would meet with President Wickremesinghe before his departure on February 12, officials added.

The minister would also visit various sites that underline the scale and extent of India's people-centric development partnership in Sri Lanka and also interact with a cross-section of leaders and stakeholders, the Indian High Commission said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)