Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday to attend the first meeting of the Nepal-Sri Lanka Joint Commission set to be held from December 21-22. 

Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal received him in Kathmandu. In a post shared on X, Sri Lanka Embassy in Nepal said, “Foreign Minister @alisabrypc who arrived today in Kathmandu to attend the Inaugural Joint Commission at Foreign Minister level was received on arrival by Nepali Foreign Secretary @sewa_lamsal.”

Ali Sabry is on an official visit to Nepal from December 20-23. Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud will lead the Nepali delegation at the Nepal-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting. 

The Nepali delegation comprises officials of various ministries of the Nepal government, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. Narayan Prakash Saud and Ali Sabry will also hold a separate meeting.

On his Nepal visit, Ali Sabry is scheduled to meet Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Nepal President Ram Chandra Poudel, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release. Ali Sabry is scheduled to depart from Kathmandu on December 23.

Diplomatic relations between Nepal and Sri Lanka were established on July 1, 1957. Relations between the two nations are marked by goodwill, mutual understanding and cooperation, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. 

Nepal opened an Honorary Consulate General in Colombo in 1975 and the Embassy of Nepal was established in Colombo in 1995, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. 

Nepal and Sri Lanka celebrated the 60th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations in 2017. (ANI)

--Agencies