Bahrain Parliamentary delegation meets President Rajapaksa

Monday, 29 April 2013 01:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A Bahrain parliamentary delegation, headed by the Speaker of the Council of Representatives Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani, called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees last week.

Members of the delegation said that Bahrain valued its cooperation with Sri Lanka and wanted to see bilateral ties strengthened through larger joint projects.

Among the ideas discussed were the possibility of conducting a Sri Lankan trade exhibition in Bahrain that would promote Sri Lankan products in Middle East markets, exchange visits by the Chambers of Commerce of the two countries, strengthening people-to-people interaction and expediting consular relations. President Rajapaksa also invited Bahrain to consider establishing an embassy in Sri Lanka that would better facilitate closer cooperation and strengthen bilateral relations. Sri Lanka established a new embassy in Bahrain earlier this year.

During the current visit, the Bahraini delegation also joined the launch of the Sri Lanka-Bahrain Parliamentary Friendship Association.

Several other Bahraini Members of Parliament and high-level Government officials, including the non-resident Ambassador of Bahrain to Sri Lanka Mohamed Ghassan Shaikho, were a part of the delegation. Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga and several officials of the Ministry of External Affairs also joined the discussion.