At the first foreign secretary bilateral talks that took place in Colombo recently, Sri Lanka and Pakistan agreed to increase mutual cooperation in economy and education.

S. Palihakkara, Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary, headed the Sri Lankan delegation while the Pakistan delegation was lead by Riaz Khokhar, the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. During the bilateral talks both sides agreed to advance the Free Trade Agreement between their respective countries.

Some of the matters discussed at the talks included cooperation in tourism and archaeology, an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation, the cultural exchange programme, air services negotiations, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and the Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy.

The next meeting of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Joint Economic Commission will be held in the first quarter of 2005.