Bangladesh High Commissioner meets Sri Lankan Prime Minister

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tarik Ahsan with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tarik Ahsan paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka,Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Temple Trees (Prime Minister’s House) in Colombo yesterday.

During the meeting, the Bangladesh High Commissioner conveyed the greetings of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The High Commissioner lauded the vision and commitmentof the Prime Minister forreforms in the political and economic domains of Sri Lanka. Hesought the support ofthe Prime Ministerin the ongoing efforts for advancing bilateral cooperationbetween Bangladesh andSri Lanka. He focused on the areas of cooperation intrade, investment, shipping, fisheries, culture and people-to-people contact.He also recalled the excellent record of cooperation between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on the multilateral plane. He described Bangladesh as a bridge between South Asia and South East Asia, something that Sri Lanka can utilize as its gateway to the region.

The Prime Minister extended regards to his Bangladesh counterpart. He thanked Bangladesh for her support in the recent election of Sri Lanka to Executive Board of UNESCO. He assured the High Commissioner of full cooperation of his government in his efforts for deepening the bilateral relations. Expressing satisfaction at the existing friendly relations, he viewed that the natural affinity between the two peoples based on commonalities of history, culture, values and ethnicity should be carried forward for enhancing meaningful cooperation.He expressed interest in further consolidating economic relations with Bangladesh from a regional perspective also.

The meeting acknowledged the need for regular exchange of high-level visits as well as holding of meetings of consultative mechanisms existing between the two countries. The importance of concluding negotiations on a number of agreements under process was also recognized.