Foreign Secretary meets Russian counterpart

Talks between Sri Lanka Foreign Secretary, Dr. Palitha Kohona and Director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander G. Maryasov were held recently and matters of bilateral interest including economic, educational and cultural areas as well as to exchange of high level visits between the two countries were discussed, a press release from the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The full text of the press release: "The discussion covered matters of mutual interest including the current global and regional developments and further demonstrated the close cooperation which exists between the two countries. A wide range of issues pertaining to the bilateral relations, which included the status of cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia in economic, commercial, educational and cultural fields were discussed.

Both sides agreed to work towards the early finalization of the bilateral agreements, which are under negotiation.

"The two sides reiterated their firm commitment to the global fight against terrorism and agreed to enhance interaction in multilateral fora in this regard. It was decided in principle to work towards increasing high level visits between the two countries culminating at the highest level.