Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulates PM Modi for inauguration of Ram Temple

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the inauguration of Ram Temple on 22 January.

Wickremesinghe's remarks came during the launch of India's United Payment Interface (UPI) in Sri Lanka and Mauritius.

"It's an important occasion for us. For you, Prime Minister Modi it's a second important occasion because I must congratulate you for the opening of the Ram Mandir just a few weeks ago," the Sri Lankan leader said.

He added, "This shows our connections both economically and culturally."

Last month, the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was inaugurated in a grand ceremony inviting reactions from across the world.

Speaking about the launch of UPI in his country, Wickremesinghe said, "For thousands of years, payments have taken place between our two countries and at that time, unfortunately, there were no central banks."

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Leaders from across the world congratulated the Indian prime minister for the inauguration of the temple.

Extending his wishes to the Indian people, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said, "The world is divided into two types of people: those who are going to fall in love with India and those who already have."

Similarly, Nepal's Union Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Sarat Singh Bhandari said, "The world has entered the era of Ram. I thank PM Modi whose initiative brought people scattered across the world to one place for Shree Ram which works as a force."