<span style="color: #222222;">India has said it would like Sri Lanka to send the first international flight to the newly upgraded Kushinagar airport in Uttar Pradesh. This was conveyed by Indian High commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay during his meeting with Sri Lankan Prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa today to convey his best wishes following the latter's victory at this week parliamentary election. <br />''<br />''Mr. Baglay further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on promoting Buddhism, and has placed a "specific focus" on initiating related projects, not only in the area of tourism but also other sectors such as archaeology. <br />''<br />''Prime Minister Rajapaksa expressed condolences to all those impacted by the Air India crash yesterday. He also said he was happy to receive Prime Minister Modi's call on Thursday, even before the final results of elections were declared. In addition to ongoing projects, High Commissioner Baglay said India would also be happy to assist Sri Lanka on areas such as water and sanitation. <br />''<br />''Prime Minister Rajapaksa said irrigation is another important area on which the two countries can collaborate. Indian Government has decided to declare the Kushinagar airport an international airport in June. This is particularly significant to Sri Lanka's Buddhist pilgrims since the airport is located near a number of sites sacred to Buddhists.</span><br />