A day after making a strong pitch for devolution of powers and resources to provinces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Sri Lankan Tamil heartland Jaffna has raised huge expectations among the island’s biggest minority. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister and only the second foreign leader after British Premier David Cameron to visit Jaffna, where he will hand over homes built with the help of Indian assistance.

Close to 20,000 such homes have been built in Jaffna as a flagship cooperation project with Sri Lanka. The two countries are also in discussions on the possible repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees in India. There could be fresh round of deliberations on the issue.

Addressing the Sinhalese-dominated Parliament yesterday, Modi cited the Indian example of “cooperative federalism” as a model which could work well for the island nation. He urged the government to fully implement a 1987 constitutional provision on greater autonomy, including the Tamil majority north. Modi also said that a country became stronger when the aspirations of all its sections were accommodated.

Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for the iconic Jaffna Cultural Centre which will be built with Indian assistance. Modi also inaugurated a train service from Madhu Road to Talai Mannar Pier. India was involved in the construction of the railway track. Modi also visited the Mahabodhi Society and met with Buddhist monks in Lanka’s ancient capital Anuradhapura on his way to Jaffna.

Incidentally, Modi’s visit coincides with the 28th Human Rights Council session in Geneva, where progress on a U.S.-sponsored probe into Sri Lanka’s rights record will be assessed.

The Prime Minister is in Sri Lanka on the final leg of his five-day three-nation tour and is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the island nation in 28 years.