Rajapaksa's visit to strengthen ties

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa would infuse new dynamism into the bilateral process and lead to further deepening and strengthening of ties between the two countries.
She said this when she called on the visiting president at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel yesterday afternoon. Rajapaksa arrived here yesterday on a 3-day state visit.
During the call on, they touched upon ways and means to further intensify the mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas, including inter alia, trade and commerce, investment, civil aviation, shipping, tourism, people-to-people contacts, cultural cooperation, education, agriculture, fisheries and livestock, cooperation in health, defence, youth affairs, disaster management, etc.
Dipu Moni underscored the need for making greater use of the available institutional mechanisms and meet at regular intervals.
The discussions also touched upon the need to explore the various means to enhance bilateral trade and increase people to people contacts and establish linkages between universities, educational institutions, museums, etc.
Dipu Moni also recalled that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had been cooperating in various regional and international bodies such as Saarc, Bimstec, IOR-ARC, Commonwealth, and Nam and assured that Bangladesh would remain engaged with Sri Lanka in these forums on issues of mutual interest.
The foreign minister also handed over two publications on Buddhism in Bangladesh to the president of Sri Lanka. These publications are a part of the exhibits to be displayed at the Bangladesh pavilion at the International Buddhist Museum at Dalada Maligawa near Kandy in Sri Lanka.