During the meeting, the High Commissioner conveyed the greetings of Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, MP to the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister. The High Commissioner also congratulated Mr. Samaraweera on his re-appointment as the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka following the Parliamentary election of 17 August 2015. The Bangladesh envoy expressed the interest of Bangladesh government to deepen and widen the relations with Sri Lanka under its new government. He sought support of the Minister advancing bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in different areas, particularly in early holding of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) as well as Sessions of Joint Working Groups (JWGs) on Trade and Shipping; materializing high level visits especially from the new leadership of Sri Lanka; finalization of the pending draft agreements; Sri Lankan cooperation in deep sea fishing of Bangladesh and so on.

The Minister conveyed his thanks to Bangladesh Foreign Minister for his congratulatory phonecall and message on his re-appointment as Foreign Minister. He assured the High Commissioner of his full cooperation in High Commissioner’s endeavors for strengthening the friendly relations between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which, he remarked, are based on common history and culture. He particularly thanked Bangladesh for hosting a sizeable number of Sri Lankan students in medical colleges. He further expressed his strong hope that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would continue to cooperate at UN, Commonwealth and other regional and international organizations.