PM invited to visit Bangladesh

The outgoing Bangladeshi High Commissioner, on behalf of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has extended an invitation for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to visit Bangladesh at a convenient date in the future, the Prime Minister’s Office said.   

The High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Sri Lanka Riaz Hamidullah paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees Monday morning.   

High Commissioner Hamidullah, who served in Sri Lanka for nearly four years, expressed his “gratitude and appreciation” to the Prime Minister for all the support extended to him during his tenure.   

Noting that during Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s time as President, Sri Lanka-Bangladeshi relations were at an “exceptional level,” High Commissioner Hamidulla hoped that relations would be further improved in the coming years, particularly in areas such as trade, agriculture and fisheries.   

Prime Minister Rajapaksa thanked the High Commissioner for his work in Sri Lanka and also asked him to convey his gratitude to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina for her recent phone call to wish Prime Minister Rajapaksa as he marked 50 years in politics.  Prime Minister Rajapaksa also commended the Mother Language Day program jointly organised by the High Commission of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education earlier this year and requested the High Commissioner to urge his successor to continue that work.