July 09, Colombo: India's Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh will arrive in Sri Lanka Wednesday (July 11) for a three-day visit.

During his visit, the Indian government Cabinet Minister is expected to hold discussions with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, and External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris.

Ramesh will be the second Indian Cabinet Minister to visit Sri Lanka this year. India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna undertook a four-day visit to Colombo in January this year.

Minister Ramesh will deliver two lectures during his visit. He will speak on the Indian experience with the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS), in Colombo on Thursday.

The Institute will also sign an agreement with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi, for further cooperation, The Hindu reported.

The Indian Minister will also deliver a talk at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) on the "Changing Role of India in South Asia."

However, The Minister, who has been hospitalized since last Saturday and expected to be discharged from the hospital on Wednesday prior to visit, will not visit the North Central Province as scheduled earlier.

"I am feeling weak but given the current state of our bilateral relationship, have decided to go ahead with the visit although Anuradhapura is off my programme," he told The Hindu.