Sri Lankan president due Jul 13
UNB
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is scheduled to pay a three-day official visit to Bangladesh from July 13. Sirisena will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and meet President Abdul Hamid during the visit, diplomatic sources said, reports UNB.
The upcoming visit will be Sirisenas first official visit to Bangladesh since he was elected President in 2015. The two countries are expected to sign several documents during the visit to further promote bilateral ties. Meanwhile, the 3rd Foreign Office Consultations between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, co-chaired by the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries, was held on Monday in Dhaka. Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque and his Sri Lankan counterpart Esala Weerakoon led the respective sides at the meeting.
The Sri Lankan delegation included Yasoja Gunasekera, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh, and officials from the Foreign Affairs, Higher Education Highways ministries, Department of Commerce and Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The two sides discussed ways and means to strengthen bilateral cooperation and develop close trade and economic links between the two countries, said a press release.
The discussions also focused on possible trade and shipping opportunities in the Bay of Bengal and cooperation in the fields of higher education, human resources developments, health, finance and agriculture. Legal instruments in the fields of shipping, investment, agriculture, finance, trade, human resources development and ICT were also discussed at the consultative meeting. The Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary thanked the government of Bangladesh for its generous financial donation towards the welfare of victims of the recent flood and landslide in Sri Lanka.
