Max The Boss
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Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed on the need to convert the existing Free Trade Agreement between the two countries to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported yesterday.
It said the agreement was reached on Wednesday between Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during talks on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt.
Prime Minister Gilani said Sri Lanka was the largest recipient of Pakistans free military training with a large number of training courses offered annually by the Pakistan armed forces and pointed out that Pakistan was willing to further assist Sri Lanka in enhancing the capacity of its armed forces.
Mr. Gilani said he appreciated Sri Lankan governments decision to invite Pakistans Defence Minister to visit Colombo in October, and hoped it would greatly contribute towards strengthening bilateral relations.
He said Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoyed close and cooperative relationships, based on mutual respect and shared perceptions over regional and international issues of common interest. Pakistan supports the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and we would like to see durable peace and stability in the country, the Prime Minister said. He said both Pakistan and Sri Lanka were victims of terrorism and expressed his governments commitment to bring to justice the perpetrators involved in the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore a few months ago.
Mr. Gilani said from time to time the Pakistan government had been sharing with Sri Lanka the details of the progress on the investigation into the terrorist attack on the cricket team.
He said the culprits involved in the heinous crime appeared to be connected with the Taliban network and added that the authorities had arrested some key suspects and were on the lookout to arrest the rest using the clues provided by the detainees.
We need not to be deterred by such incidents and continue to maintain our contacts in the popular field of cricket, the Prime Minister said.
He said Pakistan would be happy to participate in the next session of Foreign Secretary level bilateral consultations in Colombo and to hold Joint Economic Commission meetings in Islamabad this year.
Mr. Gilani said he also appreciated the establishment of Sri Lanka-Pakistan Parliamentary Association in Colombo and called for frequent parliamentary exchanges to forge closer ties between the public representatives.
He expressed satisfaction on the effective implementation of the projects under Pakistans Special Assistance Programme for South Asia, where Rs.10.66 million was spent during 2008-2009.
Pakistan has mostly trained SL military personnel; Pakistans Defence Minister to visit Sri Lanka soon.
From: Sri Lanka Breaking News-Daily Mirror Online
It said the agreement was reached on Wednesday between Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during talks on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt.
Prime Minister Gilani said Sri Lanka was the largest recipient of Pakistans free military training with a large number of training courses offered annually by the Pakistan armed forces and pointed out that Pakistan was willing to further assist Sri Lanka in enhancing the capacity of its armed forces.
Mr. Gilani said he appreciated Sri Lankan governments decision to invite Pakistans Defence Minister to visit Colombo in October, and hoped it would greatly contribute towards strengthening bilateral relations.
He said Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoyed close and cooperative relationships, based on mutual respect and shared perceptions over regional and international issues of common interest. Pakistan supports the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and we would like to see durable peace and stability in the country, the Prime Minister said. He said both Pakistan and Sri Lanka were victims of terrorism and expressed his governments commitment to bring to justice the perpetrators involved in the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore a few months ago.
Mr. Gilani said from time to time the Pakistan government had been sharing with Sri Lanka the details of the progress on the investigation into the terrorist attack on the cricket team.
He said the culprits involved in the heinous crime appeared to be connected with the Taliban network and added that the authorities had arrested some key suspects and were on the lookout to arrest the rest using the clues provided by the detainees.
We need not to be deterred by such incidents and continue to maintain our contacts in the popular field of cricket, the Prime Minister said.
He said Pakistan would be happy to participate in the next session of Foreign Secretary level bilateral consultations in Colombo and to hold Joint Economic Commission meetings in Islamabad this year.
Mr. Gilani said he also appreciated the establishment of Sri Lanka-Pakistan Parliamentary Association in Colombo and called for frequent parliamentary exchanges to forge closer ties between the public representatives.
He expressed satisfaction on the effective implementation of the projects under Pakistans Special Assistance Programme for South Asia, where Rs.10.66 million was spent during 2008-2009.
Pakistan has mostly trained SL military personnel; Pakistans Defence Minister to visit Sri Lanka soon.
From: Sri Lanka Breaking News-Daily Mirror Online
