Dhaka June 12: Sri Lankan President Maithripala will be arriving here on Thursday at the head of a 73-member delegation to sign ten agreements with Bangladesh, BDNews24.com reports.
This will be his first State Visit .He had however journeyed to Bangladesh earlier as Health Minister in 2013 and 2014.
Coastal shipping and visa waiver of diplomatic and official passport holders are among the key deals to be signed.
Other deals to be signed include cooperation in agriculture, education, investment, information and communication technology, agreements between the two central banks, foreign service institutes, between Bangladesh’s think-tank BIISS and Sri Lanka’s LKIIRSS, and radio, TV and films.
Besides, there will be an agreement for cooperation between two standards testing institutions, news agencies, Chittagong BGMEA Fashion Institute and Sri Lanka Textile and Apparel Institute, apart from economic cooperation.
The bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will take place on Friday where trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, coastal shipping, education, information technology and visa-related issues would come up.
The two-way trade is only US $80 million, but there is potential to expand the market.Bangladesh is in talks with Sri Lanka for a free trade agreement or FTA.
Bangladesh High Commissioner in Colombo M Riaz Hamidullah earlier in a media interview suggested Sri Lankan investors look at Bangladesh.
He said since Sri Lanka is a small country with a population of only 20 million, expansion of businesses here is difficult. Therefore, Sri Lankan businessmen and entrepreneurs should look to invest in a bigger country like Bangladesh.
Sirisena will meet his counterpart Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Friday when the President will host a banquet in his honor.
He will also attend a business dialogue before leaving Dhaka on Saturday.
