By Janaka Alahapperuma
Nov 21, 2012
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is on a three-day
official visit to Kazakhstan met his counterpart President Nursultan
Nazarbayev yesterday morning (20 November) for bilateral talks. President
Nazarbayev welcomed his counterpart with a military guard of honour prior to
the discussion.
The two leaders discussed on problems of political,
commercial and economic cooperation and ways of further improving
trade-economic cooperation, scientific-technical, cultural-humanitarian
partnership and tourism between the two countries.
"Official visit of Sri Lanka's President will
create a platform for the open exchange of the views on a wide range of
regional and global issues and the basis for further cooperation. Two
countries have a good opportunity to get to know each other better and enjoy
good relations of confidence and mutual understanding. This meeting will give
a new impetus to cooperation between our states in various spheres- economy,
politics, and culture “President Nazarbayev said.
Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev also assured his Sri
Lankan counterpart that his country would stand by Sri Lanka against
international pressures and pointed out that Sri Lanka should look for home
grown solutions in dealing with its internal problems. He further pledged his
country’s wholehearted support towards Sri Lanka’s post conflict development,
during discussions.
The two leaders also discussed on the possibility of
increasing direct flights between the two countries to strengthen the tourism
flow in to Sri Lanka and open new avenues for trade and investments. During
discussions while Kazakhstan voiced interest in buying Sri Lanka tea, in
return Sri Lanka showed interest in purchasing gas and fuel from Kazakhstan.
During the meeting the Sri Lankan President extended
an invitation to President Nazarbayev to visit Sri Lanka.
Celebrating the event a special cultural festival to
mark the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Sri
Lanka and Kazakhstan was held at the Astana Palace of Peace and
Reconciliation at Astana city to coincide with President Rajapaksa’s official
visit to Kazakhstan. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Russia also organized a Sri
Lankan Culture Day with a dance troupe performance and "Beauties of Sri
Lanka” photo exhibition as part of the event at the same venue.
President Rajapaksa and President Nazarbayev of
Kazakhstan attended the dance concert presented by the Sri Lankan and
Kazakhstan artists at the Astana Palace and declared open the photo
exhibition in the evening. The "Beauties of Sri Lanka" exhibition
is dedicated to the political, social and economic transformation that took
place in Sri Lanka after defeating thirty years of terrorism. The expo aiming
to promote tourism showcases Sri Lankan culture and beautiful landscapes.
President Rajapaksa will also meet the Prime
Minister, the Speaker and several senior Ministers of Kazakhstan during his
stay. Both countries are set to sign several agreements to further expand
bilateral cooperation in the fields of economic, social and cultural
relations.
Sri Lankan ambassador for Russia Udayanga Weeratunga
who is also accredited to the Republic of Kazakhstan coordinated President
Rakapaksa’s visit to Kazakhstan.
President Rajapaksa was accompanied by First Lady
Shiranthi Rajapaksa, External Affairs Minister, Prof G.L. Peiris, Uva
Province Chief Minister Sashendra Rajapaksa, Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass
Gunawardena and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga.
Pix by: Sudath Silva
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