U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives this month, officials of both Indian Ocean nations said on Tuesday, as Washington seeks to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
Pompeo will hold two-way talks in Colombo on October 28, a spokesman for Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said, but gave no details.
Two people familiar with arrangements for the trip said Pompeo was likely to stop in the Maldives capital of Male for several hours on the same day.
In a statement the Maldives foreign ministry said: “Incoming visits of official foreign delegations will be announced once a visit is scheduled and confirmed.”
