Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya met Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Major General (Retd) Nayyar Naseer, at Temple Trees on Thursday, with both sides reaffirming what the Prime Minister’s Media Division called the two countries’ “longstanding and cordial relations.”
The Prime Minister thanked the Pakistan government for support extended to Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, the November storm that killed more than 600 people and caused an estimated US$ 4.1 billion in damage. The talks then turned to deepening cooperation in education, tourism and sports, with the stated aim of broadening people-to-people ties.
Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner Zunaira Latif, Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Additional Secretary Sagarika Bogahawatta and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism also attended.
Thursday’s meeting follows a stretch of busy bilateral engagement. Pakistan’s Special Service Group ran the joint “Shake Hands-II” counter-terrorism exercise at Tarbela in late April, and Pakistan Navy frigates PNS Taimur and PNS Aslat docked at Colombo for a separate exercise earlier in the month. Islamabad has also been the venue Iran is using to channel its latest proposal in the US-Iran talks track.
Sources: Ada Derana, Newswire.
