SL, Kazakhstan to expand cooperation in all fields - GL

External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris during bilateral discussions on Thursday in Astana with Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhano said his visit to that country grew out of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s vision to restructure Sri Lanka’s foreign relations, by enhancing ties with regions of the world acquiring importance to become centres of growth.

In this context, he pointed out that Central Asia has been identified as representing such a region, and within that area, Kazakhstan is playing a pivotal role in economic social and cultural activities. This working visit to Astana is at the invitation of the Kazakhstani Foreign Minister, which is the first by a Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs.

Having recalled the fruitful meeting between President Rajapaksa and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev last year on the margins of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Minister Peiris underscored the historical aspect of this visit having taken place during the 20th year of establishing bilateral diplomatic relations. He viewed the visit as establishing a foundation for the relations of the two countries to be built upon, and systematically move rapidly forward. Minister Peiris referred to the President of Kazakhstan having taken a lively interest in the developments in Sri Lanka at the discussions with President Rajapaksa.

The two ministers emphasized the need for furthering these contacts through visits to the respective capitals at the highest political level. Prof. Peiris referring to tourism as a growth sector in Sri Lanka’s economy, identified investment in that area both in terms of related infrastructure and the enhancement of tourist arrivals from Kazakhstan. Minister Kazykhanov observing that areas of economic cooperation between the two countries being unlimited agreed that the tourism sector could be worked upon through charter flights which have already started to other tourist destinations.