Pakistan foreign secretary to visit SL

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani will visit Sri Lanka April 4-5 to take part in the third round of bilateral political consultations, it was announced Monday.

During his stay, the foreign secretary will call on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of External Affairs G.L. Peiris and Minister for Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa, reports Xinhua.

He will hold in-depth discussions on a variety of bilateral issues of mutual interest with his counterpart Karunatilaka Amunugama and Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The last round of talks occurred July 17-19, 2007, in Islamabad.

The visit is part of a tradition of high-level contacts and exchanges between the two countries.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have active engagement in all important fields including trade and commerce.

"The visit of the foreign secretary would contribute in bolstering the existing ties of friendship and cooperation between Pakistan and Sri Lanka," a foreign ministry statement said.

Relations between the two countries were based on mutual trust and shared interest in maintaining regional peace, security and stability, it said.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy commonality of views on regional and international issues and regularly coordinate their positions multilaterally, especially at the UN and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), it added. (IANS)