Myanmar reiterates closeness of ties

Sri Lanka and Myanmar are bound by ancient and historical links, reinforced by the common Buddhist heritage that unites the peoples of the two countries.

This sentiment was articulated by the visiting Foreign Minister of Myanmar, U Nyan Win, who called on Foreign Affairs Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama at the Foreign Ministry on Monday.

The Myanmar Foreign Minister is in Sri Lanka, leading his country delegation to the three-day ECOSOC Regional Ministerial Meeting on Financing Strategies for Healthcare, currently taking place in Colombo and Kandy.

Minister Bogollagama, welcoming his Myanmar guest as a friend of Sri Lanka, briefed Minister Win on current developments in Sri Lanka, including the impending defeat of terrorism and the dawn of an era of sustainable peace and prosperity in the country.

He spoke of the close collaboration with Myanmar in the many regional and international fora, including their common membership in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Asia Co-operation Dialogue (ACD) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Co-operation (BIMSTEC).

He sought the support of Myanmar for Sri Lanka's bid to host the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Colombo, and also looked forward to Myanmar's participation in the Ministerial Meeting of the ACD which Sri Lanka will be hosting in June this year.

The Minister also solicited Myanmar's support for Sri Lanka's application to become a dialogue partner of ASEAN.

He informed Minister Bogollagama that the Government and the people of Myanmar are keenly looking forward to visit by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Myanmar this year to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.