Pakistan Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani will be visiting Sri Lanka from April 4 to 5 to take part in the 3rd Round of Bilateral Political Consultations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

During his stay, the foreign secretary will call upon Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of External Affairs G. L. Peiris, Minister for Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa and will hold in-depth discussions on a variety of bilateral issues of mutual interest with his counterpart Karunatilaka Amunugama as well as with Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The last round of talks occurred from July 17 to 19, 2007 in Islamabad.

The visit of the foreign secretary to Sri Lanka is part of a tradition of high-level contacts and exchanges between the two countries. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have active engagement in all important fields including trade and commerce, a Foreign Ministry statement said. "The visit of the foreign secretary would contribute in bolstering the existing ties of friendship and cooperation between Pakistan and Sri Lanka,"it said.

Relations between the two countries are based on mutual trust and shared interest in maintaining regional peace, security and stability, the Foreign Ministry said.

Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy commonality of views on regional and international issues and regularly coordinate their positions multilaterally, especially at the United Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), it added. Endi

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