Keen to strengthen links with China in int’l affairs: SL

President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said Sri Lanka is willing to strengthen coordination and communication with China in international and regional affairs.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the eighth BRICS summit in India. President Sirisena said the time-tested relations between the two countries have gained a stronger momentum under the new situation.

According to CCTV News, Chinese President Xi had said China-Sri Lanka relations have seen positive and healthy development momentum and that China will work with Sri Lanka to carry forward the traditional friendship.

To further their relations, Xi suggested the two sides maintain high-level contacts and political communication, and continue to show mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests.

He called on the two sides to deepen cooperation in the sectors of trade, port operation, infrastructure construction, port-vicinity industrial parks, production capacity and people's livelihood.

Sri Lanka is a member of the Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), a regional mechanism that is aimed at connecting South Asian and Southeast Asian countries and also groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand.

On the margins of the BRICS summit in Goa, Xi and other BRICS leaders held dialogues with the BIMSTEC leaders and representatives.