High Commissioner of Pakistan to Sri Lanka, Major General (Retd) Muhammad Saad Khattak met with the Governor of Eastern Province, Mrs. Anuradha Yahampath, at her office in Trincomalee on May 28, 2020.

Mrs. Yahampath warmly welcomed the High Commissioner on his first visit to the Eastern Province after assuming charge and thanked the government and people of Pakistan for their consistent support and assistance for the Province and the country.

During the meeting, the High Commissioner held detailed discussion on all areas of mutual interest between the two countries, including assistance which can be provided by Pakistan to the Eastern Province.

He assured Pakistan will help to provide technical know-how to develop the agriculture to be more productive in the Eastern Province.

The Pakistani High Commissioner said that although the military ties between the two countries have been very successful, his focus is always on economic and investment opportunities.

The High Commissioner emphasized that the opportunities that have arisen with the Sri Lanka-Pakistan relationship have not been fully utilized and these opportunities should be further expanded.

The Governor requested the High Commissioner to support the development of tourism in the Eastern Province and the envoy assured that he would extend all possible support to this endeavor.

The Pakistani envoy added that measures would be taken to bring Buddhist tourists to Pakistan centering on Taxila, the Buddhist pilgrimage site and provide facilities.

The Governor requested the High Commissioner to further expand the opportunities to export Sri Lankan tea to Pakistan. In response, the High Commissioner said he would extend his fullest cooperation and noted that the name "Ceylon Tea" had been favored by Pakistan but Kenya had taken the opportunity in the past few years.

It was also discussed at this meeting to provide scholarships for the children of the Eastern Province in Pakistan Universities.

Further discussion to explore opportunities to enhance economic, educational, cultural, tourism and people to people links with the Eastern part of Sri Lanka also took place. The discussion also focused on improving the economic activities in the Eastern Province after the COVID-19 epidemic.