Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will undertake a visit to Kathmandu from December 20-22 to attend the Inaugural Session of the Sri Lanka-Nepal Joint Commission at Foreign Ministers’ level, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Foreign Minister will lead the Sri Lanka delegation and co-chair the Inaugural Session of the Sri Lanka –Nepal Joint Commission with his counterpart Narayan Prakash Saud, Foreign Minister of Nepal. 

The Joint Commission will focus on a range of areas of bilateral cooperation between Sri Lanka and Nepal including trade and investment, tourism, education, defence, culture, connectivity and people to people contacts.

During the Joint Commission, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the fields of Science, Technology & Innovation will also be signed, the statement said.

On the sidelines of the Joint Commission, Foreign Minister Sabry is scheduled to have bilateral talks with his Nepali counterpart Narayan Prakash Saud. He will also pay courtesy calls on President Ram Chandra Paudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of Nepal during his stay in Kathmandu.

During the visit, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will meet the Sri Lankan expatriate community in Nepal as well, according to the ministry.

The Foreign Minister will be accompanied to the meetings by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Nepal, Air Chief Marshal Sudarshana Karagoda Pathirana (Retd.) and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Kathmandu.