Pakistan pledges to strengthen economic and trade relations with Sri Lanka

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has pledged to further strengthen the economic and trade relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka during a bilateral meeting held with visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday (23 March).

The official bilateral meeting between the visiting President and the Pakistani Premier was held at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Islamabad, after a one-on-one meeting between the two leaders.

The Pakistani Prime Minister thanked President Sirisena for accepting the invitation extended by him to attend the Pakistan Republic Day Celebrations as the Chief Guest, and further said that the President’s participation was a great honour to the country.

President Sirisena also extended his special thanks to the Government of Pakistan for extending him an invitation to attend this event.

The two leaders held a lengthy discussion on strengthening economic and trade relations, as well as defence training programs between the two countries. They also discussed achieving a $1 billion target in economic cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting the Pakistani Prime Minister expressed his Government’s willingness to provide their experiences in the fields of oil and natural gas to Sri Lanka at any time, and the President said that Sri Lanka has paid special attention in this regard as the country has to face energy issues in the future.

The President also appreciated the support extended to Sri Lanka over the past 50 years by Pakistan, marking the longstanding friendship between the two countries.

The President took this opportunity to thank Prime Minister Abbasi for his quick response to a recent phone call made by him to the Premier regarding the fertiliser issue.

President Sirisena praised the continuous assistance provided by Pakistan to Sri Lanka when the country faced disastrous situations, and also expressed his appreciation over the assistance provided by the Pakistan Government to the security forces by training them during the war period.

Expressing his views on the recent incident occurred in Kandy, the Prime Minister of Pakistan stated that he bestows his honour on the President in recognition of the manner in which the President acted to solve the issues, utilising his mature political experiences.

Speaking on the issue, the President said that a certain group attempted to use the incident in a harmful manner, and expressing regret, said he will not allow any room for similar incidents to recur in the future.

The President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan also discussed the activities of SAARC. The President said that Sri Lanka is prepared to provide any assistance to take forward initiatives of SAARC.

Following the bilateral discussions, three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the two countries.

MoU between Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) and the Foreign Service Academy of Pakistan was signed by State Minister Wasantha Senanayake and the Pakistan Foreign Secretary.

MoU between National School of Public Policy (NSPP) of the Government of Pakistan and Sri Lankan Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) of Sri Lanka was signed by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan and the Dean of the Pakistan NSPP.

A bilateral agreement was signed between the two countries to enhance youth development, and the agreement was signed by the Secretary to the Pakistan Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination and the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan.

President Sirisena presented Prime Minister Abbasi with a gift of eye corneas under a friendship program initiated by Pakistan Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Friendship Association.