Khar discusses defence, trade in Sri Lanka visit

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on Saturday held a series of meetings with the top leadership of Sri Lanka and discussed a whole range of issues with them.

According to a Foreign Office statement, the state minister was in Colombo on a two-day official visit to attend the 75th Independence Day of Sri Lanka as a guest of honour.

She called on President Ranil Wickramasinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and her Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry on the sidelines of the country’s Independence Day festivities.

During her meeting with the Sri Lankan president, the minister of state for foreign affairs congratulated him on the country’s 75th Independence Day. The two dignitaries expressed satisfaction over close, cooperative relations between the two countries, and recalled the shared Buddhist heritage and people-to-people links between the two countries.

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In her meeting with Sri Lankan foreign minister, the two sides agreed to enhance multidimensional bilateral cooperation in political, economic and commercial, defence, and education domains.

In addition, the two also agreed to continue cooperation at various international forums, including the United Nations and the South Asian Association for the Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Also, Minister of State Khar and Bangladeshi Minister of Foreign Affairs AK Abdul Momen discussed mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in diverse fields, especially in the economy and trade.