• Imran proposes establishing trade links as exist among EU members
• MoUs signed for cooperation in tourism, education
• Both sides highlight need for realising $1bn bilateral trade potential
COLOMBO: Pakistan has offered a $50 million new credit line to Sri Lanka for cooperation in the field of defence and security.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who concluded his two-day official visit to the island nation, said a joint communique issued by the foreign ministries of the two countries from Colombo and Islamabad on Wednesday.
The two sides called for stronger partnership in matters related to security, terrorism, organised crime and drug and narcotics trafficking as well as intelligence-sharing, according to the joint communique. They also noted that the elevation of staff-level talks to defence dialogue had provided an opportunity to expand security sector relations.
To strengthen sports diplomacy, Pakistan would provide Rs52 million for promotion of sports in Sri Lanka, according to the communique. Prime Minister Khan at an interactive session with the sports community of Sri Lanka announced the commissioning of the Imran Khan High Performance Sports Centre in Colombo.
Pakistan also announced plans to establish Asian Civilisation and Culture Centre at the University of Peradeniya at the Sri Lankan resort of Kandy…..
Pakistan also announced 100 scholarships in the field of medicines (MBBS and BDS) as part of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Higher Education Cooperation programme.
During the visit, the prime minister held delegation-level meetings with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa. .
$1bn trade target
At the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference held in Colombo, the two countries highlighted the importance of realising the goal of achieving $1 billion bilateral trade target and also agreed to work towards broadening and deepening of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA)……
Connectivity
While inviting the Sri Lankan businessmen to invest in Pakistan by exploring the opportunities being offered in the form of ease-of-doing business, Prime Minister Khan told Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference that trade connectivity among the countries was vital for poverty alleviation. Source: dawn.com
Thursday, April 23, 2026
