Colombo, July 25 (Daily Mirror) - AirSial, a private airline in Pakistan, is slated to start direct flight operations between Colombo and Islamabad, Sri Lankan High Commissioner Admiral (Retired) Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne said.

He said the Pakistani Cabinet has approved for this. Currently, SriLankan Airlines operates flights to the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore.  

Besides, the High Commissioner told the Daily Mirror that Sri Lanka and Pakistan will conduct bilateral consultations after two years next Monday based on subjects such as trade, investment, tourism and culture and sports activities.

Sri Lanka is the first country to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan in 2004. The potential of the current bilateral trade volume is way below the potential of USD 1 billion.

The Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry took steps recently to promote Buddhist tourism for Sri Lankan Buddhists (the Gandhara trail). It conducted an international conference in Islamabad in May.      

Improving direct air connectivity between Colombo and Islamabad is also to be discussed.  

“Sri Lanka always remembers with gratitude the unconditional support that Pakistan gave during the war against the LTTE terrorists, both in military hardware and training. It helped Sri Lanka eradicate terrorism.  

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Islamabad is the only Sri Lankan to be awarded the prestigious Nisha-e-Imitiyaz (Military) medal by the Pakistan government in 2019 when he was Chief of Defense Staff of the Sri Lanka military, for his great contributions to Pakistan-Sri Lanka defence relations.