The newly elected Government in Pakistan is very keen to strengthen economic relationship with the countries in the region and Sri Lanka is one of the most important neighbours in this context, said Pakistani Federal Minister for Industries and Production Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi.
He said this addressing the eleventh Session of Sri Lanka – Pakistan Joint Economic Commission held in Colombo. “Pakistan is mindful of the fact that existing cordial and friendly relations between the two countries can be further translated into substantial economic and commercial cooperation,” he added.
Minister Jatoi also called on Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and expressed appreciation on behalf of the government of Pakistan for the Governments vision in developing Sri Lanka’s national economy.
As a follow up to Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif’s offer to assist Sri Lanka in sugar sector, Minister Jatoi held detailed discussions with Sugar Industry Development Minister Lakshman Seneviratne on enhancing bilateral cooperation and agreed to collaborate closely in setting up sugar industries in Sri Lanka.
The Pakistani side agreed to the Sri Lankan proposal for charting out and formalizing cooperation between the Sugar Research Institutes of the two countries with the signing of an MoU for cooperation.