Official bilateral talks have been held between the government of Maldives and the government of Sri Lanka this evening. The meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat following the official welcome ceremony.
At the meeting, President Waheed expressed his gratitude to President Rajapaksa for the invitation extended to him and First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain, to make the official visit to Sri Lanka.
Highlighting the long existing bilateral relations between the Maldives and Sri Lanka, the President said that the government appreciates the close considerations that has always been extended towards the Maldives by the Sri Lankan government. The President expressed his confidence that this visit would pave ways to further the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The Sri Lanka President expressed his pleasure that President Waheed and the First Lady accepted his invitation and visited Sri Lanka. Highlighting the close brotherly relations between the two countries, President Rajapaksa noted the growth of the relations between the Maldives and Sri Lanka over the recent years.
At the meeting, discussions were also held on ways to further enhance cooperation in various sectors between the two countries, and ways to support each other in the developmental areas. In this regard, the officials discussed joint tourism promotion between the two countries and arrangement of lowered fuel prices for the Maldives.
Following the official talks President Dr Mohamed Waheed and President Rajapaksa had a private meeting.
