Pakistan President here next week

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Sri Lanka beginning November 28. This is his first State visit to Sri Lanka.

He will be the first Head of State to visit Sri Lanka following the swearing-in of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the second term. Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed and Bhutan Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday.

President Zardari will hold bilateral talks with President Rajapaksa. The talks are expected to focus on trade, diplomatic ties, cooperation in the defence sphere and other matters of bilateral interest. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will be accompanying Zardari.

Qureshi will hold separate talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Prof. G.L. Peiris. A trade and business delegation will be a part of the Pakistani delegation. Leading members in Pakistan’s business and industry circles had expressed interest in investing in various projects in Sri Lanka, especially in the North and the East.

Pakistan is also the second largest trading partner of Sri Lanka in South Asia after India. Sri Lanka was the first country to sign a free trade agreement with Pakistan.