President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has sent condolences to the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, following the death of the country’s former Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne.

The president, in the message sent on Wednesday, said that he had learnt of the passing of the former PM with great sadness, and extended sympathies from the Maldivian government and people.

He also conveyed condolences to the family of the late prime minister.

President Solih noted that PM Jayaratne’s “invaluable contributions to national development and reform will be remembered for generations to come.”

Jayaratne passed away at the age of 88 while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Kandy on Tuesday. His funeral will take place on Saturday.

He served as Sri Lanka’s 14th prime minister from 2010 to 2015, during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration. He entered politics in 1970.