Indian delegation meets Rajapaksa

A high-powered Indian delegation led by national security adviser M.K. Narayanan on Saturday met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and is understood to have discussed security for the upcoming Saarc summit.

The meeting between Mr Rajapaksa and the top Indian officials took place at the residence of the Sri Lankan President before the Indian team’s return home and even photographers were not allowed, sources said.

The meeting is believed to have lasted about an hour. Besides Mr Narayanan, the Indian delegation’s members were foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon and defence secretary Vijay Singh. The India team is understood to have discussed with Mr Rajapaksa the security scenario in the island country for the Saarc summit in August. It is believed that they could have also touched upon the internal situation in Sri Lanka and areas of mutual interest.

The Indian delegation met top senior Sri Lankan officials on Friday. The closely-guarded visit of the Indian officials comes two days after Sri Lanka offered to hold talks with the LTTE following a two-year gap, saying the outfit does represent a "fair amount" of Tamils.

The visit also comes amid reports that China and Pakistan have offered arms assistance to the island nation in its fight against Tamil rebels. Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama recently visited India to personally invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Saarc summit.