President
Asif Ali Zardari on Friday said that Pakistan values its relations with
Sri Lanka which are based on mutual respect, shared civilizational
heritage and shared perceptions on host of issues.He said that there
was a need to translate this equation into economic terms and take
advantage of each other’s economic expertise and opportunities.The
President was talking to Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Prof. Gamini
Lakshman Peiris, who called on him here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on
Friday.He was accompanied by High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Air Chief
Marshal ® Jayalath Weerakkody and Deputy Head of Mission, M. H. M. N.
Bandar.
Pakistan side included Secretary
General to the President M. Salman Faruqui, Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir,
Chairman Board of Investment Salim H. Mandviwala and other senior
officials besides Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar.
Pak-Sri Lankan bilateral relations, mutual cooperation with special reference to that of trade and other related matters were discussed during the meeting.
Progress on the proposed currency swap agreement for promoting and facilitating mutual trade also came under discussion.
The President said that by increasing the synergies of Pak-Sri Lanka economies and reinforcing institutional framework for economic cooperation, the mutual trade volume can be significantly increased by the two countries.
It may be recalled that President Zardari during his visit to Sri Lanka had offered assistance to Sri Lanka in cement, sugar and dairy industry and had called for exploring new and unconventional phase of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The currency swap agreement was thus proposed to reduce pressure on foreign exchange reserves of the two countries.
Prof G. L. Peiris thanked the President for meeting and hoped that the mutual cooperation and bilateral relations would be further strengthened with each passing day. APP
Pak-Sri Lankan bilateral relations, mutual cooperation with special reference to that of trade and other related matters were discussed during the meeting.
Progress on the proposed currency swap agreement for promoting and facilitating mutual trade also came under discussion.
The President said that by increasing the synergies of Pak-Sri Lanka economies and reinforcing institutional framework for economic cooperation, the mutual trade volume can be significantly increased by the two countries.
It may be recalled that President Zardari during his visit to Sri Lanka had offered assistance to Sri Lanka in cement, sugar and dairy industry and had called for exploring new and unconventional phase of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The currency swap agreement was thus proposed to reduce pressure on foreign exchange reserves of the two countries.
Prof G. L. Peiris thanked the President for meeting and hoped that the mutual cooperation and bilateral relations would be further strengthened with each passing day. APP
