Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has suggested that Bangladesh use the port of Colombo more for transporting goods. Wednesday (30 March) Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen made the offer to Rajapaksa during a courtesy call in the President’s palace in Colombo.
In a meeting with AK Abdul Momen, the Sri Lankan President also lauded the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He praised the policy of collective prosperity, with a special focus on combating terrorism and violent extremism. Rajapaksa also thanked Bangladesh for its continued support in various multilateral forums.
At the meeting, Rajapaksa and Dr. Momen agreed to work closely together in the future. The Foreign Minister also drew the attention of the President of Sri Lanka to the growth of trade and development of tourism through regular commercial shipping lines and cruise shipping between Chittagong and Colombo ports. The Foreign Minister emphasised the need for affordable air ticket prices for further expansion of tourism between the two countries.
Dr. AK Abdul Momen called on the President of Sri Lanka to take joint action to fully utilise the potential of trade within Bangladesh. He also proposed to the Sri Lankan government to explore the possibility of importing pharmaceuticals and agricultural products including potatoes from Bangladesh.
To this end, both sides agreed to expedite the signing of bilateral preferential trade agreements to facilitate and enhance bilateral trade.
They also discussed possible new areas of cooperation, including food security, ICT, healthcare, and the Blue economy. He also agreed to expedite and complete the approval process by discussing pending bilateral issues for the greater good of the people of the two countries and to enhance bilateral engagement between the two countries.
