Zardari for win-win relationship

Parliamentary corr

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari yesterday said he was in Sri Lanka to develop a win-win relationship between the countries. Addressing Parliamentarians at the Parliament complex on the invitation of Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, the Pakistan President said that Sri Lanka should adopt modern technology for development after its victory over terrorism.

President Zardari said Pakistan has material like cement in abudance while Sri Lanka has tea, rubber etc in abundance.

Both countries can share them for the benefit of both countries, he said.

He said Sri Lanka has the environment to develop as a tourist destination and pointed out the need for developing infrastructure facilities for the development of the tourism industry.

The Pakistan President said Pakistan was happy that it was able extend its support to eliminate terrorism.

He said there were very few nations free from the terrorism menace and even he and his family were victims of terrorism.

Stating that there were not a single political prisoner in Pakistan, he said, tolerance is a remedy for many issues.

The Pakistan President expressed his wish for Sri Lankan Airlines to fly to Pakistan daily as investors could travel frequently.

He said that Sri Lanka and Pakistan have cultural similarities and were maintaining relationships for millenniums.

He said he wished to maintain the relationship between the countries for ever and was proud to be known as a friend of Sri Lanka. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa said the friendship between the two nations has always been categorized by warmth and genuine goodwill.

He added that Sri Lanka will always remember the solidarity extended by Pakistan at a time when Sri Lanka faced the menace of terrorism directed against our territorial integrity.

Speaker Rajapaksa added that in the international political arena the two nations always have worked together to strengthen the role of the United Nations towards fashioning of an equitable global order.

The speaker also said in our own South Asian Sub Continent we strongly support the principles of SAARC and its efforts for our ever strengthened regional cooperation.