Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's statement on India's take on Pakistan caught wide attention of Indian media. Prime Minister condemned the cross border terrorism emanating from Pakistan and said that dialogue is the best option.

India and Sri Lanka have shared concerns over cross-border terrorism in a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe. "Prime Ministers shared concerns at the spread of cross-border terrorism in the region and reaffirmed that they were of one mind on the need to counter this menace, which was affecting progress in entire South Asia," sources in New Delhi on Wednesday said following the meeting. According to the sources, both Prime Ministers reviewed progress in bilateral efforts to forge closer cooperation in economic, defence and security matters.

"Cross border terrorism is a big issue in The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and we will discuss how to tackle it. We are also affected by terrorism. I don't think war is an option. Your Prime Minister has taken a lot of steps to diffuse tensions," Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said during a press conference after meeting with Indian Prime Minister.

During the course of the day, PM also held meetings with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

"In the ministerial meetings the Sri Lankan Prime Minister discussed ways to build security and defence collaboration between the countries, Indian collaboration in the further development of road and port infrastructure, and development of the power and oil and gas infrastructure in Sri Lanka," the sources said.

In the evening, Prime Minister called on President Pranab Mukherjee and both sides reiterated the urgency to counter cross border terrorism through united action, including at the UN through early adoption of the India-initiated Comprehensive Convention on Counter Terrorism and strengthening internal security systems. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe also shared his vision for the economic and political transformation under way in Sri Lanka and the opportunities for Indian industry in partnering various development projects in the country.