Pakistan calls for trade relations to be put on par with political rapport

• Says convergence on both sides for strengthening and exploring new avenues of bilateral collaboration
• Pakistan’s effort for global debt relief discussed
• Commitment to SAARC also highlighted

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood has called for trade and economic relations with Sri Lanka to be put on par with the political engagement shared by the two countries during a recent high-level meeting, the Pakistan High Commission said in a statement yesterday. 

The sixth round of Foreign Secretary-level Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was held virtually on 16 December. Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood led the Pakistan side; the Sri Lankan delegation was headed by Foreign Secretary Admiral (Prof.) Jayanath Colombage. 

During the BPC, the two sides discussed the whole gamut of bilateral relations, including cooperation in the political, economic, defence, trade and investment, culture and education fields as well as people-to-people exchanges. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1948, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have enjoyed cordial relations based on trust, mutual respect and close cooperation.

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood underscored the exceptional quality of bilateral political relations and rapport at the leadership level. “He underlined that the bilateral trade and economic ties must also be made commensurate with excellent political relations. There was convergence on both sides for strengthening existing mechanisms of cooperation and exploring new avenues of bilateral collaboration,” the statement added. 

Exchange of views also covered the impact of COVID-19 at the national and global level and the measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of the people. The Foreign Secretary briefed the Sri Lankan counterpart about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘Global Initiative on Debt Relief’ for the developing countries.

The Foreign Secretary shared Pakistan’s positive contribution to the Afghan peace process. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and expressed the hope that the process of regional cooperation would be allowed to move forward.