Sri Lanka and Pakistan have discussed further cooperation in economy and trade, defence and security, among other matters, at an annual consultation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The seventh round of Bilateral Political Consultations between the two countries concluded at the Pakistani Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on Tuesday (30).
Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane and the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi reviewed the current status of relations between the two South Asian neighbours.
“The areas of cooperation that were discussed at the meeting included economy and trade, defence and security, education, culture, media and sports, consular matters, agriculture as well as technology,” the MFA said in a statement.
Both countries agreed on the importance of high-level political exchanges in enhancing the bilateral relations. “In this context, a Foreign Ministerial visit to Pakistan is envisaged in the near future.”
Cooperation at multilateral and regional fora were also discussed.
The Sri Lanka delegation “thanked Pakistan for the steadfast support that it has been extending to Sri Lanka over the years at multilateral fora.”
The Pakistan delegation “commended the leadership and the people of Sri Lanka in stabilizing the debt crisis and stated that Pakistan could learn from Sri Lanka’s experience.”
Sri Lanka and Pakistan are both in the midst of International Monetary Fund bailout programmes.
“The delegations agreed on the need to increase connectivity and bilateral trade in enhancing economic growth, in particular air connectivity, between the two countries.
“Tourism and people-to-people contacts could be further enhanced through cultural, religious and sports links.
“The two sides also agreed to cooperate in meeting challenges of transnational organized crime such as drug trafficking which adversely impact both Sri Lanka and Pakistan.”