Looking forward to welcome Imran: Lankan PM
ISLAMABAD: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said that they are looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan in Colombo.
In his tweet, Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the visit will further reinforce the bilateral relationship and pave way for joint ventures that mutually benefit both our nations.
“This visit will further reinforce our bilateral relationship and pave way for joint ventures that mutually benefit both our nations,” Rajapaksa tweeted.
Meanwhile, in a tweet on Saturday, Imran Khan has thanked his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa for inviting him to visit Sri Lanka.
This will be Imran’s first visit to Sri Lanka since assuming office, according to an official statement.
The prime minister will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including members of the cabinet and senior officials.
Imran will also lead the delegation-level talks, covering all areas of cooperation between the two countries including trade and investment, health and education, agriculture and science and technology, defence and security, and culture and tourism,” the statement said.
Besides bilateral maters, views will be exchanged on key regional and international issues, the statement said.
During the visit, the reconstitution of the Sri Lanka-pakistanparliamentaryfriendshipassociation will be also announced to further promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries.
Imran will also participate in a joint ‘Trade and Investment Conference’ aimed at promoting trade and investment between the two countries. A number of Mous to enhance bilateral cooperation will be signed during the visit.
The prime minister’s visit would help further strengthen the Pakistan-sri Lanka relationship and enhance mutual cooperation in diverse fields, the statement added.
In a separate development, senior Pakistani and US military officials spoke in Islamabad about the possibility of postponing the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, a move currently under review by US President Joe Biden’s administration.
The meeting comes with the US expected to announce in the coming days whether it will stick with a plan to withdraw its military from the country at the beginning of May, as agreed under a Us-taliban accord reached in February 2020 in Doha.
General Kenneth Mckenzie, head of the US Army Central Command (Centcom), thanked Pakistan for its “contributions to the Afghan peace negotiations” and pledged to explore “new areas for collaboration.”