COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka Major General (retd) Qasim Qureshi called on the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe in Colombo on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the Pakistani envoy briefed the Sri Lankan prime minister on the steps being taken by the government of Pakistan to root out terrorism from the country.
The Sri Lankan premier said that he is committed to further strengthen the already strong relationship with Pakistan.
Wickramasinghe said that both sides should expeditiously coordinate dates for President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit to Pakistan in the near future.
The new government emerged in Colombo after the January 8 presidential election in Sri Lanka which saw the victory of Maithripala Sirisena against the two-time President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The 63-year-old Sirisena was sworn in as the 7th president of Sri Lanka on January 9 and he appointed the United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickramasinghe as the country’s next prime minister.
On January 10, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif felicitated Maithripala Sirisena on his victory in the Sri Lankan presidential election, and expressed the hope that relationship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka would continue to grow during his term in office.
In his message to the president, the prime minister underlined his confidence that the leadership of the two countries would be able to further deepen and broaden the bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries.