Sri Lanka, Afghanistan to broaden bilateral ties
Afghan Foreign Minister Dr Zalmai Rassoul, who is on a four-day visit
to Sri Lanka met President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential
Secretariat yesterday.
“I am very proud to be the first Foreign Minister of Afghanistan to
visit Sri Lanka,” Dr Rassoul told President Rajapaksa. “The Afghan
people consider you a friend, and we are honoured.”
A range of issues were discussed during the meeting, including
cooperation in the areas of education, trade and reconciliation. When
President Rajapaksa inquired about the current situation in Afghanistan,
Dr Rassoul said that while there is improvement, challenges still
remain, particularly in the area of security. Given that Sri Lanka is
also undergoing a post-war period, Dr. Rassoul asked President Rajapaksa
for Sri Lanka's support in the reintegration and reconciliation process.
"We need your support for a peaceful Afghanistan," Dr. Rassoul told
President Rajapaksa. "Afghanistan is not going to be a threat to
anybody."
In the area of educational collaboration, Dr. Rassoul told President
Rajapaksa that the government of Afghanistan awards millions of dollars
in scholarships for Afghanistan's top students to study abroad and that
his government is keen in sending students to higher educational
institutions within the region, including Sri Lanka.
Dr. Rassoul said such exchanges would be a good way to promote better
people-to-people contact between the two countries that have many
cultural affinities. President Rajapaksa welcomed the idea of
Afghanistan students pursuing higher educational opportunities in Sri
Lanka. The Ambassador of Afghanistan in New Delhi Shaida M. Abdali and
the Director General of the First Political Division of the Afghanistan
Foreign Ministry, Azizudin Ahmadzada, were a part of the Afghan
delegation that met President Rajapaksa.
External Affairs Minister Professor G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the
President Lalith Weeratunga and Secretary to the Ministry of External
Affairs Karunatilaka Amunugama also joined the discussion.
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