Sri Lankan PM vows to boost Pakistan ties

Rajapaksa thanks Imran for his congratulatory call on election victory

KARACHI:

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday expressed his gratitude to his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan for congratulating him on his election victory and vowed to strengthen the friendly ties between the two countries.

“Many thanks to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for your phone call and warm wishes. I look forward to mutual high-level visits between our countries to strengthen our friendly bilateral ties,” the Sri Lankan premier tweeted.

On Friday, PM Imran had called up Rajapaksa and congratulated him on his resounding victory in Sri Lanka’s general elections on August 5. The Pakistani premier hoped that the bilateral relations between the two countries would be further strengthened during Rajapaksa’s new term as prime minister.

PM Imran informed his counterpart about his government’s strategy against Covid-19, with a particular emphasis on saving lives, securing livelihoods and stimulating economy.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa shared Sri Lanka’s current Covid-19 situation and the pandemic’s negative impact on the tourism industry in his country.

The Pakistani prime minister reaffirmed his country’s full support to Sri Lanka in all areas of cooperation.

Imran also reiterated his invitation to Rajapaksa to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience.

Rajapaksa was sworn in on Sunday as the country’s new prime minister at a historic Buddhist temple.

The 74-year-old Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) leader was administered the oath of office for the ninth parliament by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the sacred Rajamaha Viharaya in Kelaniya, a north Colombo suburb.

Mahinda Rajapaksa completed 50 years of parliamentary politics in July this year. He was elected as a member of parliament at the young age of 24 in 1970. He has since been elected president twice and appointed prime minister thrice.

The SLPP won in 145 constituencies, bagging a total of 150 seats with its allies, a two-thirds majority in the 225-member parliament.

The elections, postponed twice due to the epidemic and held with strict social distancing measures, saw a 70 percent turnout from the 16 million-strong electorate. Huge economic challenges await the new parliament. Sri Lanka’s economy contracted by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2020 as Covid-19 restrictions battered a country still recovering from last year’s Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed 269 people and paralysed the tourism industry.

Capital Economics expects the Indian Ocean nation’s economy to shrink 4% this year.

(With input from agencies)