Islamabad
Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal has said that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday handed over an invitation from President Arif Alvi to the newly-elected Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to visit the country
In a tweet Faisal said Qureshi and the Sri Lankan President discussed bilateral issues, trade, investment and people to people contacts.
FM calls on the President of Sri Lanka. Bilateral issues, trade, investment and people to people contacts discussed. FM handed over a letter from President to President of Sri Lanka and invited him to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience.
The FO spokesperson said, “FM handed over a letter from President to President of Sri Lanka and invited him to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience.”
Earlier in a separate meeting, Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena on the dire situation and human rights crisis in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK).
The FO spokesperson said Qureshi told the Sri Lankan foreign minister that the 100-day plus lockdown remains a “cause of serious concern” for the international community.
FM also briefed his Sri Lankan counterpart on the dire situation & human rights crisis in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir. He said that the 100 day plus lockdown remained a cause of serious concern for the international community. #fminsrilanka
During the meeting, the two ministers discussed trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people contact as well.
FM received by FM of Sri Lanka. Trade, Investment, tourism, people to people contacts, among others, discussed in detail. Both countries very keen to further deepen and strengthen the entire gamut of bilateral relations.#Pakfminsrilanka
The spokesperson said, “Both countries [are] very keen to further deepen and strengthen the entire gamut of bilateral relations.”
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Qureshi termed his meeting with the Sri Lankan foreign minister as “excellent” and extended an invitation to Gunawardena to visit Islamabad.
In the video shared by APP, the foreign minister could be seen saying, “I’m fortunate to be the first foreign minister to have visited Colombo since the new government had been elected.”
Qureshi said that during the meeting the two ministers discussed the ways in which they can take the relations forward, saying, “There is a lot we can do to promote our mutual interest.”
Foreign Minister Qureshi is on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka and became the first foreign minister to visit the country after its elections.—INP
