Islamabad: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will visit Pakistan on February 10 for talks aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation in areas as diverse as trade and defence.
Rajapaksa will make a three-day state visit at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy “friendly and close cooperative relations” and Rajapaksa’s visit will “contribute to further strengthening of the special bonds of affinity”, the statement said.
The Sri Lankan President’s delegation will include Foreign Minister G L Peiris, Foreign Secretary Karunatillake Amunugama and other senior officials. In Islamabad, Rajapaksa will hold talks with Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to strengthen political, defence, cultural, economic and trade relations, officials said.
A number of bilateral agreements are expected to be signed during the visit. Rajapaksa will also visit a museum and a Buddhist heritage site in Taxila. Officials said both countries have “shared common perceptions on almost all regional and international issues”.
The last high-level meeting between the leaders of Pakistan and Sri Lanka took place on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in the Maldives, where Prime Minister Gilani held talks with President Rajapaksa. In November 2010, President Zardari made a state visit to Sri Lanka. Pakistan is Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner in South Asia. (PTI)