I am grateful to our

I am grateful to our gracious hosts and particularly to our friend, the President of Sri Lanka for the warm welcome Land splendid hospitality extended to us. It is indeed a pleasure for me to be in Colombo to participate in the tenth SAARC summit. This is my first visit abroad since assuming office and it is only doubly appropriate that this is to attend the SAARC summit my first and to Sri Lanka a country with which we share the closest bonds of friendship stretching back to past.