Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will visit Sri Lanka from February 18 to 20, according to the External Affairs Ministry, reported Sputnik.

"The visit will continue the tradition of close exchanges with Sri Lanka that has gained momentum in the last two years. The visit would help in taking stock on various decisions taken during the meetings between the two leaderships," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told media.

During his visit Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will interact with Sri Lankan leadership for discussions on possibilities of collaboration and cooperation in a number of sectors including power, highways, airport, hydrocarbon sector etc, according to Sputnik.

"It is of utmost importance for India to strengthen its ties with the neighboring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Since China is aggressively positioning itself in the Indian Ocean so India's close ties with Sri Lanka is crucial for power balance in the Indian Ocean region. Although India has a favorable government in Sri Lanka but China's efforts to expand its presence in the island nation is a cause of concern for New Delhi. As far Bangladesh is concerned, Dhaka's support to India is necessary to check the menace of drug trafficking and counterfeit currency as now illicit drugs and fake notes mainly dumped into India through Bangladesh border," Savita Pandey, Professor of South Asian Studies in Jawahar Lal University told Sputnik.