Myanmar’s acting PM visits Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Acting Prime Minister of Myanmar, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein will arrive in Sri Lanka on Monday on the invitation of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka. He will lead a high level ministerial delegation including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Agriculture and Irrigation, Transport, Religious Affairs and Forestry.

The Acting Prime Minister will be met on arrival by Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama. Cultural Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeyawardana will be the Minister in Attendance.

The relationship between the two countries dates back to more than 10 centuries and particularly the strong religious foundation based on Therawada Buddhism has been one of the strong pillars upon which two countries have made significant progress towards strengthening friendly ties, the Foreign Ministry said.

The visit marks another important milestone in bilateral relations which coincides with the presentation of two tusker elephants by the Acting Prime Minister on behalf of the Government and the people of Myanmar to the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy.

This gesture will go a long way in consolidating religious, cultural and people to people relations between the two countries. In recognition of this gesture, the Government has devoted a special ceremony for the Myanmar delegation to pay homage to the Sacred Relic of Buddha in Kandy during the Esala Perahara season.

On the political front both countries regained independence in 1948 and the governments have been making elaborate arrangements for the celebration of their 60th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Relations in 2009.

Sri Lanka and Myanmar are members of BIMSTEC and are engaged in efforts to establish a BIMSTEC free trade zone to further strengthen economic relations between the two countries.

Both countries are keen to increase bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, technology transfer, transport, communication, tourism and cultural relations. Several MoUs will be signed between two countries on Co-operation in Buddhist Studies and Cultural Cooperation.

The delegation is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on the Mahanayaka Theras of the four main chapters, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka besides ministerial level meetings scheduled between Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

Bogollagama will call on the Acting Prime Minister and also is expected to have bilateral meeting with his counterpart. The delegation is expected to visit Anuradhapura and participate in a religious ceremony.

The business delegation accompanying the Acting Prime Minister will have discussions with the members of Business Chamber, Board of Investment, Trade, Investment, Tourism, potential investors and the business community within the framework of the Sri Lanka-Myanmar Joint Commission of which the first meeting was held in Myanmar in July 2007.