KABUL - Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ashraf Haidari has held a meeting with the Marshal of the Sri Lankan Air Force Roshan Goonetileke, Governor of the Western Province, according to a statement on Monday.
They discussed numerous opportunities for sub-national cooperation between the Afghan and Sri Lankan provinces, and agreed that creating sister-province or sister-city ties between the two countries would be a good first step, which both sides should consider.
In light of his recent meetings with the national leadership of Sri Lanka, Ambassador Haidari briefed the Governor on the enormous bilateral trade and investment potential, which needs to be realized, offering to facilitating contacts between major businesses in the two nations’ cities, particularly Kabul and Colombo.
They noted that once subnational ties were formalized by signing a MOU of cooperation between the two provinces, the Mayors of Kabul and Colombo could engage in mutually beneficial relations.
In a tweet, Ambassador Haidari said: “The Western Province and Kabul Province, housing our two nations’ capitals, have much in common interest.
This allows for establishing a strong sister-province relationship between the two, enabling the respective Governors and Mayors of the two provinces to collaborate on a range of such issues as trade and investment; urban and rural development; exchange of environmental and municipal best practices; and people-to-people and cultural relations, among others.”
Both sides appreciated the opportunity to hold a fruitful meeting, and firmly committed to working together in the coming months to build strong subnational ties between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. (Pajhwok)