Nepali FM to visit Lanka from August 30

COLOMBO: Nepali Foreign Affairs Minister Sahana Pradhan will be in Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 5 on an official visit, at the invitation of her counterpart Minister Rohitha Bogollagama.

The visit is part of the celebrations organised to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Minister Pradhan will call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, and will also hold bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Bogollagama during her stay.

Coinciding her visit, a Nepali business delegation comprising members from leading business organisations and a representative from the Nepali Tourism Board will be here to interact with their Sri Lankan counterparts. Pradan is also scheduled to address a meeting of the business community in Colombo.

The visit also marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Various programmes are being organised in both countries this year, including exchanges of high-level visits, to mark the 50th anniversary.

Earlier, Minister Bogollagama paid an official visit to Nepal from June 30 to July 3.

The Nepalese delegation, accompanying the Foreign Affairs Minister, comprises Joint Secretary of the South Asia and SAARC Division at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Arjun Bahadur Thapa, Joint Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Netra Bahadur Karki, Under Secretary at the South Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs PB Shah and Under Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amrit Rai, and others.