Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Sunday prayed for the well-being and prosperity of the Indian and Sri Lankan people and for reinforcing their centuries-old bonds, as he visited the historic Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the foremost shrine of Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority in Kandy city.
Shringla arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday on a four-day visit during which he will meet the top leadership, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and review the bilateral ties between India and the island nation.
"Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla begins his visit by seeking blessings at Sri Dalada Maligawa. He was received warmly by Hon'ble Diyawadana Nilame of the temple," the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted.
Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the country's Central Province is a world-renowned place of worship, where the left Canine tooth of Gautama Buddha is enshrined.
"Foreign Secretary offered prayers for the well-being & prosperity of the people of India & Sri Lanka and for reinforcing their centuries-old bonds," Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy tweeted.
Diyawadana Nilame is the office of the chief lay custodian of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
The temple which is venerated by thousands of local and foreign devotees and tourists daily was named as a world heritage by UNESCO in 1988.
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