PM thanks Sri Lanka for helping clinch IMF deal

Shehbaz, President Wickremesinghe vow to continue long-standing ties in diverse fields

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday agreed to continue the long-standing cooperation in areas of mutual interest and further strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries.

The prime minister held a telephonic conversation with the Sri Lankan president.

The prime minister emphasised the need to work together to fight poverty and promote economic growth and development for the benefit of the entire region, the PM Office Media Wing said in a statement.

He also expressed his desire to promote peace and enhance connectivity through regional cooperation.

The two leaders fondly recalled the close and cordial relations, and immense goodwill between the people of the two countries.

The Sri Lankan president thanked the prime minister for conveying warm sentiments on behalf of the people of Pakistan.

Separately on his Twitter handle, the prime minister said the bilateral ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka were underpinned by reservoirs of goodwill and good neighbourliness between the two countries.

“I had the pleasure of speaking to HE Ranil Wickremesinghe, president of Sri Lanka, earlier today to thank him for his support to Pakistan during my meeting with MD IMF,” he added.

Over the decades, the prime minister said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka had been close allies and friends, and stood by each other through thick and thin.

“I remember how a team of Sri Lankan doctors stayed in Lahore and helped the Punjab government deal with dengue epidemic which was devouring precious human lives in Lahore,” the prime minister said in a tweet.

He also expressed his desire to working with the Sri Lankan president to further build on the friendly relations between the two countries.