The President underscored the need for further pursuing the currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka, which, he said, would provide huge incentives to the business houses in both the countries to actively explore and enhance business linkage as they are using local currencies for trade.
He was speaking during the one-on-one meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, followed by delegation-level talks, here at the presidency on Friday. Briefing media about the meeting, spokesperson to president, Farhatullah Babar said matters regarding Pak-Sri Lank bilateral relations with special reference to trade and commercial ties besides regional and international issues were discussed during the meeting.
The president welcomed president Rajapaksa and members of delegation and expressed hope that the visit would help boost ties between people of the two countries which dates back to the days of Buddhist civilisation and have been marked by shared interest in regional peace and stability and fight against militancy.
The president recalled his previous visit to Colombo in November 2010 and said that the two countries have always enjoyed a special bond of affinity. He said the relations have also been marked by a measure of consistency and commonality of views on important regional and global issues. The two countries have stood together and supported each other on important matters, he added.
During the meeting, Zardari called upon the business community and chambers of commerce of the two countries to fully avail the huge trade and business potential the two countries offer in diverse fields. These include financial and banking sector, science and technology, defence, agriculture, tourism, gems and jewellery besides promoting cultural exchanges.
He proposed establishment of a direct shipping service between the two countries, which, he said, would help enhance the level of bilateral trade. He emphasised that there is huge scope to increase co-operation and further harness the potential available for consolidating the partnership by building on shared values, enhancing connectivity between the two countries, increasing synergies of economies, and reinforcing institutional framework for co-operation.
The president expressed satisfaction on the level of Pak- Sri Lankan close co-operation at the multilateral forums especially the UN and also at the Saarc level and emphasised on continued support to each other at regional and international fora. He appreciated Sri Lankan government for the important contribution made in assisting Pakistan cope with the outbreak of Dengue fever last year. He asked for co-operation and training of nurses to deal with such epidemic in future. He assured continued co-operation to Sri Lanka in various fields including defence and security.
The spokesperson said that Sri Lankan president thanked Zardari and the government of Pakistan for according a warm welcome. He said Sri Lanka attaches great importance to its strategic and other relations with Pakistan and desires to further strengthen trade and commercial ties based on mutual respect, shared civilisation heritage and shared perceptions on a host of issues. He thanked the president and government of Pakistan in curbing the menace of terrorism and added that Sri Lanka - Pakistan relations have matured and diversified with the passage of time, encompassing key areas of contemporary relevance.
The Sri Lankan President was assisted by Professor G.L Peiris, Minister for External Affairs, Duminda Dissanayake, Deputy Minister, Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, Monitoring MP, Lalith Weerathunga, Secretary to President, Karunatilaka Amunugama, Secretary Ministry of External Affairs, ACM Jayalath Weerakkody, and Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Pakistan, Ban
The Pakistan side included Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator A. Rehman Malik, Federal Minister for Interior, Shaukatullah Khan, Federal Minister for Safron, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, M. Salman Faruqui, Secretary General to President, Saleem H. Mandviwala, Salman Bashir, Foreign Secretary, Major Haroon Rashid (Retd), Special Secretary, Ms Seema Ilahi Baloch, Pakistan ambassador to Sri Lanka and other senior officials.-PR