Lanka, Maldives: Joint action to fight terror

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka and Maldives have agreed to cooperate with each other in the fight against terrorism and on global environmental matters, through bilateral and regional mechanisms.

This agreement was reached at the conclusion of a two-day State visit by Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom yesterday.

During the State visit, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gayoom held a one-to-one meeting and discussed a wide range of issues of both bilateral and regional interest, which were detailed and substantive in consonance with the close and friendly ties that exist between the two countries. The two President jointly chaired a session of highest-level Bilateral Consultation at the Presidential Secretariat.

They reiterated their commitment to the promotion of economic development and social progress.

They also agreed to expand and diversify the bilateral cooperation and maintain regular high level exchanges.

The two leaders recognised the need to expedite the implementation of the agreements signed on education and culture in order to promote people-to-people contact, a joint statement issued at the end of the State visit said.

It was agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in the fields of tourism and fisheries. In the context of the upcoming SAARC Summit in Sri Lanka, the Maldivian President assured Sri Lanka of his Government's fullest cooperation to Sri Lanka and conveyed his country's acceptance of dates that Sri Lanka had proposed for the Summit.

With the objective of further expanding bilateral cooperation, two bilateral agreements on Transfer of Prisoners and on Visa Facilitation were signed by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, in the presence of the two Presidents.

The Maldives delegation informed that the country's national carrier "Air Maldives" would commence flights to Colombo shortly. The Sri Lankan delegation informed that the aeronautical authorities of the two countries should meet early to revise the existing Air Services Agreement.

Sri Lanka's highest national honour namely "Lanka Mithra Vibushana", was conferred on President Gayoom by President Rajapaksa, at a special ceremony in recognition of his statesmanship and leadership in the development of the Maldives the strengthening of Sri Lanka-Maldives relations, the enhancement of regional cooperation in the SAARC as well as his contribution to the global campaign on climate change President Gayoom in his acceptance speech thanked the President of Sri Lanka and said that he was greatly honoured to have been conferred the prestigious honour from Sri Lanka. He expressed his confidence that it would bring the two countries closer together.

The two sides reiterated the importance of enhancing the existing close relations between Sri Lanka and the Maldives and expressed their confidence that President Gayoom's successful State visit to Sri Lanka would further strengthen the friendly relations and cooperation which are at an all time high.

President Gayoom recalled the historic State visit to the Maldives by President Rajapaksa and Madam Rajapaksa in February 2007 and noted that relations had strengthened as a result of the visit.

"Our goal is to achieve socio-economic progress while facing unprecedented challenges such as natural disasters and combating terrorism in all its manifestations," said President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the banquet in honour of visiting President Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives on Tuesday evening in Colombo.

"Given the magnitude of these challenges, we need to reaffirm our resolve to cooperate regionally towards finding solutions to our common problems in a spirit of friendship, trust and mutual understanding based on mutual respect and shared benefits," he added.

"Our vision for the future as one of the least developed regions in the world needs to be one that is based on the empowerment of our people. Our road map needs to be one which inspires our actions and enables us to set strategic goals and reach them," he said. Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom said over the years, the Maldives and Sri Lanka have worked hand-in-hand to promote regional cooperation.

"We have also worked closely on global environmental issues. Under President Rajapaksa's sagacious leadership, Sri Lanka has taken giant leaps forward in environmental protection and preservation. As a party to major environmental agreements and protocols, Sri Lanka has made an important contribution on the global stage, on such issues as climate change," he said.