(PTI) In a first by any Indian political leader, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today visited an IPKF memorial near here and paid rich tributes to the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives on a peacekeeping mission in war-torn Sri Lanka. Krishna, who is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka to hold talks with the top political leadership, drove to the memorial located in Pelawatte, 10 km from here, and called it an "abiding testimony" to the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries. "It is a matter of pride for me to be here at the IPKF memorial in Sri Lanka, raised in honour of those brave soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces, who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving the cause of peace in Sri Lanka," Krishna wrote in the Visitor’s Book at the memorial. The memorial for soldiers of the IPKF, who were sent to Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1989 as part of the Indo-Sri Lanka accord signed by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the then Sri Lankan President Jayawardhane, was built in 2008. Krishna paid rich tributes to the 1,200 soldiers who lost their lives during the nearly two-year operation in this country and termed the memorial as an "abiding testimony to the strong bonds of friendship between the governments and the people of India and Sri Lanka". "It is a also a symbol of India’s commitment to the unity, stability and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
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