Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban on Friday.

In the meeting, the visiting minister stressed the shipping and air connectivity between the two countries to boost trade relations and enhance people-to-people contacts, said a press release of PMO press wing.

The prime minister thanked him for attending the 22nd Ministerial Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held in Dhaka.

 Hasina wished good luck and speedy economic recovery of Sri Lanka.

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While discussing regional and multilateral cooperation,  Hasina pointed out that the prolonged presence of more than one million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar poses a serious threat to the overall socio-economy, environment, and security architecture in Bangladesh and the entire region.

She sought Sri Lanka’s support for the sustainable, safe, and voluntary repatriation of these forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, Rohingyas, to their ancestral land in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

The PM also discussed the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the regional economy.

The Sri Lankan foreign minister expressed his admiration for the charismatic leadership of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and commended recent socio-economic development and stability achieved by Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He underscored that Sri Lankans are interested in investing in Bangladesh and invited investment from Bangladesh.

Ali Sabry conveyed an invitation on behalf of his government to the prime minister to visit Colombo at a mutually convenient time.

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The meeting ended in a positive tone with a pledge to continue the friendly cooperation between the two countries in the days ahead.