Bright future for Lanka - Pakistan cooperation

Ranil Wijayapala in Islamabad

Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro told a visiting media delegation from Sri Lanka that the future of cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is a brighter one in the spheres of trade, economic, defence and tourism.

Meeting the Sri Lankan media delegation at the Prime Minister's office in Islamabad, the Pakistan Prime Minister said that a lot more can be done to boost the bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

"I see the future cooperation between the two countries is a very bright one and we will be continuing our support to Sri Lanka," he assured.

He said there are many common challenges faced by the two countries such as terrorism, adding that the prospects are very high for increased cooperation to eliminate terrorism.

"Pakistan will continue its support to Sri Lanka in its fight against terrorism as it did in the past," Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro said during his brief meeting with the Sri Lankan media delegation to Pakistan.

He said many avenues should be explored to boost the bilateral relationship between the two countries in the tourism sector. More Lankan tourists should be attracted to Pakistan especially by disseminating information on many historic Buddhist sites in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan has a significant collection of Buddhist artifacts such as the statue of the fasting Buddha statue at Lahore Museum and awareness on them should be created among Sri Lankans to encourage them to visit Pakistan.

He also said the exchanging university students between the two countries is also another way of boosting cooperation between the two countries as it would greatly benefit Pakistan.

He also invited Sri Lankan investors to invest in Pakistan considering the opportunities available for them in Pakistan.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Nisar A. Memon Monday sought international cooperation on democracy and war on terror as Pakistan was pursuing both the goals.

"The war on terror is primarily our own requirement as our country has suffered a lot due to the menace of international terrorism. We have the capability to tackle the terrorism threat. We would appreciate any intelligence sharing with any other country but we have well equipped and trained army to handle any task.

"Likewise, democracy is our cherished objective but we have our own model of democracy according to our traditions. We don't need to follow any other model," the Minister said while addressing the media delegation from Sri Lanka.

He said Sri Lanka and Pakistan shared many commonalities in history, culture and other fields.

"Both the countries won their independence from colonial rule in the same decade. Both enjoy outstanding cooperation in the defence, trade, economic and other fields.

As the media fosters people-to-people contacts, the media sector from both the friendly countries should come forth and play its due role," he said and added that the public and private media sectors of Pakistan and Sri Lanka should develop new collaborations to achieve this objective.