MOHAMMED RASOOLDEEN
COLOMBO : Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs M. U. M. Ali Sabry held bilateral talks with Madinah Governor Prince Faisal Bin Salman in the holy city of Madinah during his first leg of his five-day official tour to Saudi Arabia on Monday, Jan,23
Sabry is currently visiting the Kingdom on an invitation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Farhan Al Saud.
Minister Sabry is accompanied by K Cader Masthan , state minister for rural economy and U.LM.Jauhar, Additional Secretary/Consular Affairs and Political Affairs (Middle East and Africa) at the foreign ministry in Colombo.
Sri Lankan ambassador in Riyadh, Pakeer Mohideen Amza and Sri Lanka Consul General Falah Moulana were present during the talks between the governor and the minister.
Sabry told the prince of the vast investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and of the potentials to attract Saudi tourists to the island which is an ideal spot for a family holiday. The Lankan minister also said that his country could supply quality skilled manpower to the Kingdom.Currently, some 150,000 Lankans are working in the Kingdom.
Responding to Sabry’s remarks, the prince said that the Sri Lankan workers can be easily adapted to the Saudi environment because of their intelligence and the pattern of life.
On Tuesday, Sabry will also meet with the senior officials of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
.On Thursday, Sabry is slated to meet his counterpart in Riyadh and will hold subsequent meetings with the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC and other senior officials of the Saudi government.
Speaking to the Colombo Times prior to his departure ,Minister Sabry said that the talks with the Saudi foreign minister will focus on bilateral trade and investment and to speed up the process of signing the double taxation agreement between the two countries.
Ambassador Amza told Colombo Times that the delegation moves on well with great expectations to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
