Dhaka reassures Colombo of its support at int’l fora

Bangladesh has reassured its support to Sri Lanka at international fora and standby Sri Lanka on human rights issue.“We stand by our Sri Lankan brothers on the issue of human rights,” Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told President Mahinda Rajapaksa during a meeting in Colombo on Tuesday.
“It (human rights issue) is an internal matter… we don’t want to see this brought up (in international fora) at any level,” he said.
Mentioning that he last visited Sri Lanka more than five years ago, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said he is “very impressed and pleasantly surprised by the development that has taken place” since his last visit, reports Sri Lankan media.
Haque also briefed President Rajapaksa on the purpose of his current visit, which is to assess ongoing collaborations and explore new sectors of cooperation including the areas of trade and shipping.
Others in the Bangladeshi delegation included Bangladesh High Commissioner in Colombo Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, joint secretary of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Shipping Nasir Arif Mahmud and director (South Asia) of at the Foreign Ministry Tareq M Ariful Islam.
Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Ports and Highways Nirmala Kothalawala, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Karunatilake Amunugama also joined the meeting.
The Foreign Secretary, according to another report, said no other country can interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh has a strong trust about the leadership in Sri Lanka.
The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary has also commended the massive development activities that have been launched by the Sri Lankan President.
Recalling his visit to Sri Lanka five years ago, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary has said that there is an unbelievable development between then and now in Sri Lanka. Roads have been widened, new buildings, hotels, airports and harbours have been constructed.
During the discussions, he has told the President that both countries should focus attention on trade and maritime sectors as well. UNB

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