Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wants to “consolidate” economic relations with Bangladesh from a “regional perspective”.

He showed his interest on Thursday when Bangladesh High Commissioner in Colombo Tarik Ahsan met him at his residence.

The High Commission in a statement said the meeting acknowledged the need for regular high-level visits as well as meetings through existing consultative mechanisms between the countries.

The importance of concluding ongoing negotiations on a number of agreements was also recognised.

The High Commissioner conveyed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s greetings to Wickremesinghe and sought his support for advancing the bilateral cooperation.

He also lauded the “vision and commitment” of the Sri Lankan prime minister for reforms in the political and economic domains of Sri Lanka.

Areas of bilateral cooperation in the field of trade, investment, shipping, fisheries, culture and people-to-people contact were discussed.

Both the countries are strategically located along the Bay of Bengal.

The High Commissioner said Bangladesh, as a bridge between South Asia and South East Asia, could serve as a ‘gateway’ to the region for Sri Lanka.

Wickremesinghe extended his regards to his Bangladesh counterpart.

He thanked Bangladesh for its support in the recent election of Sri Lanka to the UNESCO Executive Board.

He assured the High Commissioner of “full cooperation of his government in his efforts for deepening the bilateral relations”.

He expressed satisfaction over the existing friendly relations and viewed that “the natural affinity between the peoples based on commonalities of history, culture, values and ethnicity should be carried forward for enhancing meaningful cooperation”.

Source: bdnews24