Pakistan President Zardari arrives in Colombo

[TamilNet, Saturday, 27 November 2010, 14:47 GMT]
Pakistan President, Asif Ali Zardari, arrived Saturday evening in Colombo on a three day official visit, and was received by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), diplomatic sources in Colombo said. Ali Zardari will interact with Members of the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Association and address a Business Forum comprising businessmen and corporate leaders during his state visit, according to the same sources.

Zardari is leading a forty member delegation including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Defense Minister Ahmed and 40 officials representing various sectors, including trade and commerce, defense, tourism, education and media.

On Sunday the delegagtions would be visiting parliament, and this will be followed by bilateral talks and a one-to-one meeting between the two leaders.

The same night Rajapakse is scheduled to host a banquet in honor of Zardari.

On Monday, Zardari would be chairing the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Business Forum.

His itinerary for the day includes meetings with other government and Opposition leaders including Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne, Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris, Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf Hakeem.