UPDATES WITH DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE
By Saadet Gokce
ISTANBUL (AA) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Sri Lanka for the first time since the economic crisis in the South Asian country hit its peak in 2022, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper.
Wang will visit Colombo on Monday and Tuesday, after completing his first visit of the year to the African continent, the report said.
He is expected to meet with his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath and is expected to be received by the President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
There was no official confirmation from China or Sri Lanka about the visit yet.
The visit comes as massive floods brought by Cyclone Ditwah struck the island nation on Nov. 17, 2025, killing more than 640, with more than 170 others still unaccounted.
Since the floods, China has sent emergency relief supplies worth around $1.4 million to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka and China had a total bilateral trade of $4.5 billion in 2024, according to the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.