Macron makes 'historic' stop in Sri Lanka
France's President Emmanuel Macron (left) shaking hands with Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Ali Sabry (right) upon arriving at the airport in Colombo for a short visit following his South Pacific tour.
Emmanuel Macron made a short stopover in Sri Lanka on Friday, the first visit by a French president to the island nation, which is undergoing a difficult economic recovery.
The French leader, who spent less than two hours in the country, was welcomed by his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Macron made the stop en route home from Oceania, after visiting Papua New Guinea, the French territory of New Caledonia and the sea-threatened archipelago of Vanuatu.
During the airport meeting, Macron and Wickremesinghe were to talk about economic recovery and maintenance of the rule of law.
"This is a historic visit," the Elysee said of the meeting, which occurred after Macron disembarked around 11:30pm local time (1800 GMT).
