Pak, Lanka agree to enhance bilateral ties

COLOMBO – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday emphasised on finding ways and means to enhance trade and connectivity through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor right up to Central Asia for Sri Lanka.

While addressing the joint presser along with his Sri Lankan Counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo, he said Pakistan is part of Belt and Road Initiative of China and CPEC is the flagship project of this programme, which offers great opportunities of connectivity and trade. PM Imran Khan invited Sri Lanka to promote its economic and regional ties through Pakistan. 

“Pakistan is part of the One Belt and Road initiative of China, and CPEC is one of its flagship programmes. 

And it means connectivity,” he said hours after his arrival. The CPEC, Imran Khan said, would help enhance Sri Lanka’s connectivity “right up to Central Asia”, while trade ties would bring the Pakistan and Sri Lanka “closer together”.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier received Prime Minister Imran Khan on his arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport this afternoon. Prime Minister Imran Khan is the first Head of Government to visit Sri Lanka after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed office last year, which is reflective of the importance both countries attach to their important relationship. He is undertaking the visit to the island nation on the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart.

Imran Khan said, “We discussed areas where we can enhance trading ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the latter can get maximum benefit from the connectivity being offered by the former.” The Pakistan Prime Minister said his country and Sri Lanka share common problem of terrorism as both the countries have suffered a lot due to this menace. He said Pakistan faced a worst kind of terrorism for ten years and lost around 70,000 people.

Imran Khan said Pakistan played its part in helping Sri Lanka to curb terrorism from its soil, which was impeding development, growth, and the tourism. He said no country can progress if there is terrorism.

He said now the two countries, along with other nations of the world, are facing another problem of coronavirus. He said the Covid-19 pandemic hit the poor countries the most and they should be entitled to get debt relief from the richer nations.

Inviting the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to visit Pakistan, Imran Khan said his country has the greatest Buddhist heritage sites and we recently discovered a 40-feet long sleeping Buddha. He said the Northern Areas of Pakistan was center of ancient Gandahara civilization in the region. He also invited people from Sri Lanka to visit Pakistan as it is planning for a Buddhist trail to attract the Buddhist community from all over the world. Imran Khan also thanked his Sri Lankan Counterpart for according a warm welcome to him and his delegation. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mahinda Rajapaksa said we have agreed to enhance bilateral ties in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education, defence, tourism, aviation and other sectors. He said framework for Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and enhancing parliamentary interactions between the two countries were also discussed. 

Mahinda Rajapaksa said we have agreed to work together to fight terrorism and armed struggle through sharing of information. He said political stability and regional peace will be a key to achieve a sustainable development, economic growth and prosperity in South Asia.

He also acknowledged Pakistan’s support to curb terrorism from Sri Lankan soil and thanked Islamabad for its cooperation in the realm of sports. Mahinda Rajapaksa thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for visiting Sri Lanka on his invitation. The two leaders later jointly addressed the media. The meeting was followed by a Banquet hosted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in honour of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his delegation

One-one-one meeting

Pakistan and Sri Lanka agreed to reinforce a broad-based and enduring partnership to advance the shared objectives of peace, stability and economic prosperity in South Asia. The understanding reached at a one-one-one meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Tuesday, followed by delegation-level talks between the two sides. The two leaders reaffirmed their resolve to work together across a broad range of areas.

They acknowledged the immense opportunities and vast potential for mutually beneficial collaboration in the areas of trade and investment, IT and human resource development, agriculture and science and technology, security and defence cooperation, and culture & tourism.

Appreciating the rich Buddhist heritage of Pakistan and existence of great potential for religious tourism, it was agreed to enhance mutual collaboration including through sharing expertise in the hospitality industry, training and capacity-building.

Both sides expressed satisfaction at the close cooperation between the two countries at multilateral fora and resolved to further deepen strategic communication and coordination at all levels. It was also agreed to keep the momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries. The two sides noted that both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have done relatively well in handling the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the international context, the importance of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “Global Initiative on Debt Relief” for developing countries to mitigate the adverse socio-economic impacts of the pandemic was highlighted.

Prime Minister Imran Khan underscored Pakistan’s commitment to peace and stability in the region. He also underlined the need of constructive engagement by all sides to promote a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s shifting focus from geo-strategic to geo-economics was underscored. The three pillars of Pakistan’s economic security vision- peace, development partnerships, and connectivity – were emphasised.

Imran Khan emphasised the importance of resolving disputes through dialogue and promoting the vision of peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia and beyond.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to the principles and objectives of the SAARC Charter and agreed on the importance of taking forward the SAARC process for regional cooperation.

Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed deep appreciation and sincere gratitude to his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality accorded to him and his delegation in Sri Lanka.

Imran Khan extended a cordial invitation to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to visit Pakistan at the earliest convenience. The two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of important Memorandums of Understanding on cooperation in the fields of tourism, investment, education, and technology.

Memorandums of Understanding

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have signed several Memorandums of Understanding in various sectors including commerce, investment, education, science and technology and industrial cooperation.

The signing ceremony of MoUs was held in Colombo on Tuesday, in the presence of Prime Ministers of both countries. The agreements were signed by departmental representatives from both countries.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa held a one-on-one meeting, and discussed issues of bilateral and regional importance.

The two leaders affirmed the resolve to strengthen relations in diverse areas in the meeting held at Temple Trees- the office of Sri Lanka Prime Minister. The two sides focused on strengthening ties in areas of trade and investment, health and education, agriculture, science & technology, security, culture and tourism.