Sri Lanka has appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s policies and measures in dealing with terrorism while the two South Asian countries eye to work more closely on potential areas to have a stronger bilateral relationship.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen had a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Admiral Prof Jayanath Colombage in the Sri Lankan capital on Monday and discussed issues of mutual interest.
The two foreign secretaries laid emphasis on bringing more momentum to bilateral relations through the expeditious convening of meetings of various bilateral forums, including the Preferential Trade Agreement.
At the meeting, they pledged to continue the current trend of relations and to continue cooperative relations in international forums.
The officials expressed satisfaction over the ongoing close ties and communication between the two countries, despite the pandemic.
The Sri Lankan foreign secretary described the 50th anniversary of friendly diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as a unique milestone.
The foreign secretaries agreed to hold a proper ceremony to mark the milestone.
They emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral trade and cooperation in the tourism sector using direct shipping lines.
In this regard, Foreign Secretary Masud requested his Sri Lankan counterpart to introduce special facilities for Bangladesh at the Colombo Port.
Besides, the Bangladeshi foreign secretary drew the attention of Prof Jayanath to boost people-to-people communication and reduce air ticket prices for Bangladeshi transit passengers.
Prof Jayanath, who attended the 22nd BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting in Dhaka, is scheduled to return home Tuesday.
Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams and Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Tareq Md Ariful Islam, among others, joined the meeting.