COLOMBO: in a major political development, Pakistan and Sri Lanka agreed to strengthen cooperation in several areas including agriculture. The agreement came to the spotlight as visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met here with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for bilateral ties, the Xinhua news reported.

During the meeting on Wednesday, Khan underlined the "exceptional quality" of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka relations with mutual trust, understanding and support. The Pakistani Prime Minister emphasized the importance of building the robust economic partnership between the two countries characterized by enhanced bilateral trade, investments and commercial cooperation.

He stressed the importance of regional cooperation through the platform of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the opportunities for regional prosperity through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

For his part, Rajapaksa expressed his wish to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and also exchanged views on sharing technical know-how in order to promote agriculture in both countries.

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