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PR. No.235/2008

Date: 30/07/2008    

MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF PAKISTAN WITH THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF SRI LANKA (JULY 30, 2008)

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi today met the Foreign Minster of Sri Lanka, H.E. Rohitha Bogollagama. He congratulated the government of Sri Lanka on hosting the 15 th SAARC Summit.

The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy excellent relations which are based on mutual trust and commonality of interest in maintaining regional peace, security and stability. He emphasised that Pakistan supports the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and hoped that a lasting and durable peace would soon be achieved.

The two Ministers reviewed the whole ambit of bilateral relations and agreed that Pakistan and Sri Lanka should deepen their relations and make them more meaningful. The Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka appreciated the assistance and help extended to his country by Pakistan in the hours of need. He said that bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Pakistan had grown significantly in the last couple of years which could reach the target of 1 billion dollars in near future. He said that there was an immense potential for economic cooperation between the two countries. Sri Lanka was ready to provide its expertise of hospitality and tourism industry to develop those in Pakistan . The two Foreign Ministers agreed that the two countries could cooperate closely under SAARC to promote regional cooperation. They appreciated the progress made by SAARC in a number of areas, the Foreign Minister emphasised the need to expand and intensify project oriented cooperation under SAARC.

Islamabad

30 July 2008