Islamabad, Pakistan (CU)_ It is expected that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will lead a high-level delegation to Sri Lanka in the near future. High Commissioner of Pakistan Maj. Gen. (Retd) Muhammad Saad Khattak announced during a conference. He said, “A visit by the Prime Minister to Colombo is being planned”. The news sources said that the visit will be in the coming days and that arrangements for the visit are underway.
The High Commissioner Khattak said, “However, the future of Pak-Lanka economic relations is not bleak”. He further elaborated about the Pak-Lanka relationship in terms of trade. He said, “Pakistani companies have invested in agriculture, Information Technology, textiles and construction /real estate development in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Construction and Real Estate industry is rapidly growing and the country has an import requirement of 600 million USD worth of cement annually from various countries. Pakistan supplies 10% – 20% of Sri Lanka’s cement requirements and has the capacity to increase its exports due to competitive pricing and good quality. This sector has a larger potential due to increased consumer spending on construction and real estate.” He added, “Similarly, the demand for sugar in Sri Lanka is estimated to be 650 MT per annum and the country imports more than 90% of its annual sugar requirement. Sugar is one of the potential sectors where Pakistani investors can focus on in 2021.”
As President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Imran Khan are both committed to promoting FDIs, different investment areas will be addressed during the meet. Sri Lanka has always had friendly relationship with Pakistan in terms of trade, politics and culture. Pakistan is now training Sri Lankan military personnel and is repeatedly supporting Sri Lanka in ethnic-related international forums, but Pak-Lanka relationship has failed to make strong economic moves.
It is widely expected that Imran Khan may raise some of the problems faced by Sri Lankan Muslims, notably the issue of obtaining authorization to bury the dead of COVID-19. The tone will, however, be low, as Pakistan keeps away from remarking on Sri Lanka’s internal problems. Also, the Pakistan government has always stood by Sri Lanka in international forums such as UNHRC, where Sri Lanka is condemned for its alleged war crimes.
