Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz leaves tomorrow on a three-nation tour that will take him to Sri Lanka, Maldives and India, an official statement said. Aziz undertakes the visit in his capacity as Chairman of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or SAARC. It is a SAARC tradition that the Chairman makes farewell calls to SAARC capitals before the next summit. Aziz arrives in Colombo on November 21. The visit gives an opportunity to the Prime Minister to discuss with Sri Lankan leadership his vision for revitalization of SAARC, regional security situation and ways and means to enhance bilateral relations with Sri Lanka. The fact that Sri Lanka has always played important role in pushing the SAARC process forward adds further importance to this visit, the statement said. Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy very cordial and friendly relations based on mutual cooperation and communality of interests. The two countries closely interact in the fields of culture, education and sports. The two-way trade between Pakistan - Sri Lanka during 2003-2004 was US $ 146.24 million. Both the countries are currently negotiating Free Trade Agreement, which would lead to more business opportunities for traders of the two countries. The Ministers for Petroleum, Railways, Water and Power, Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs and Overseas Pakistanis and some Members of the Parliament will be traveling with the Prime Minister.
