Pakistan–Sri Lanka relations

Pakistan–Sri Lanka relations refer to bilateral relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Both countries are located in South Asia. The earliest proper diplomatic and trade contacts between Pakistan (previously the Dominion of Pakistan) and Sri Lanka (previously the Dominion of Ceylon) date back as early as 1948. In 2013, the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif said that there were strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.[1]

Pakistani-Sri Lankan relations
Map indicating locations of Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Pakistan
Sri Lanka

There is a Pakistani High Commission in Colombo,[2] and a Sri Lankan High Commission in Islamabad.[3]

Country Comparison
Common NamePakistanSri Lanka
Official NameIslamic Republic of PakistanDemocratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Coat of Arms
Flag Pakistan Sri Lanka
Area 881,913 km2 (340,509 sq mi) 65,610 km2 (25,330 sq mi)
Population 212,742,631[4] 21,670,000
Population Density 244.4/km2 (633/sq mi) 327/km2 (846.9/sq mi)
Capital Islamabad Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Largest Metropolitan Area Karachi (14,910,352)[4] Colombo (5,600,000)
Government Federal Parliamentary Republic Unitary Presidential Republic
Current Leader Arif Alvi Ranil Wickremesinghe
Official Languages Urdu
English		 Sinhala
Tamil
GDP (nominal) $324.73 Billion[5] $92.504 Billion
GDP (PPP) $1.195 Trillion[6] $292.793 Billion
GDP (nominal) per Capita $1,650 $4,265
GDP (PPP) per Capita $5,839 $13,500
Human Development Index Increase 0.562 (Medium) Increase 0.770 (High)
Military Expenditures $18.6 Billion[7] $2.4 Billion

History

The relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka date back to the formative years of the two countries. The two countries laid the foundation of their friendship in 1948 when Prime Minister of Sri Lanka DS Senanayake visited Pakistan.[8]

Pakistan and Sri Lanka are both Commonwealth republics.

Diplomatic Relations

Sri Lanka avoided joining the boycott of the 19th SAARC summit that was scheduled to be held in November 2016 in Islamabad, Pakistan. However a media release by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs which said it regrets that the prevailing environment in the region was not conducive for holding the SAARC summit was false interpreted by Indian media as not attending the summit. But the Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera debunked the claims saying that General Provisions of the Charter of SAARC results in the summit being cancelled even if one country does not attend thus there was no summit for Sri Lanka to attend and Sri Lanka will attend the summit whenever it will be held.[9][10][11]

Economic relations

On February 12, 2012, a credit line for US$200 million was one of three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The MoUs were signed during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s official visit to Pakistan, on the invitation of President Asif Ali Zardari.[12]

In 2012, Sri Lankan Airlines invited Pakistan International Airlines to operate more flights to Sri Lanka.[13]

Trade and investment
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Pakistan Pakistan Exports $322 million $442 million $341 million $411 million $306 million $332 million $304 million $378 million $355 million $323 million
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Exports $59.4 million $70.7 million $95.3 million $74.3 million $74.8 million $77.7 million $66.3 million $109 million $97 million $61 million
Total trade $381.4 million $512.7 million $436.3 million $485.3 million $380.8 million $409.7 million $370.3 million $487 million $452 million $384 million
Note: All values are in U.S. dollars. Source: OEC.[14][15]

Defense Cooperation
Baktar-Shikan Anti tank missile of Sri Lanka Army
See also: Pakistan's military assistance to Sri Lanka

On January 16, 2018, Pakistani Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa reached Sri Lanka on a two-day official visit on the invitation from his counterpart.[16]

During his visit to Sri Lanka in February 2021, PM Imran Khan offered a $50 million line of credit to Sri Lanka for defence purchases.[17]

Military Assistance & Training

Pakistan has engaged Sri Lanka by providing training to its military officers, included Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and also military exercises.[18] Pakistan offered training to Sri Lanka for intelligence gathering.[19] Apart from traditional military assistance to Sri Lanka, Pakistan has also offered to train Sri Lanka Police and State Intelligence Service (SIS) officers.

Pakistan over the years has provided military munitions and systems to assist Sri Lanka in its Civil War with the LTTE.[20]

Growing ties

In 2009, shortly after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka, Islamabad congratulated Sri Lanka and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hussein A. Bhaila of Sri Lanka called Pakistan a true friend saying:

"The government and the people of Sri Lanka have considered Pakistan as a true friend of Sri Lanka, which has always stood by it in times of need..."[21]

Nuclear energy deal

In April, 2015 Sri Lanka signed a nuclear energy deal with Pakistan.[22]

Agriculture

In January 2018, amid a shortage of fertilizer in Sri Lanka, President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena requested Pakistan for assistance. Though the Pakistani government had banned fertilizer exports, Pakistan agreed to send 41,000 metric tons of fertilizer immediately. Following concerns raised about the scarcity of fertilizer in Sri Lanka, the President of Sri Lanka had contacted Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi requesting assistance to find a long-lasting solution to the crisis. Islamabad informed him that it would take steps to export more than 75,000 metric tons of fertilizer to Colombo in the future. Later, President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the Government of Pakistan for timely provision of fertilizer to Sri Lanka to curb the shortage.[23]

Pakistan is to establish a modern dairy farm in Polonnaruwa District in North Central Sri Lanka which is the home district of the former Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Pakistan is among three countries in the Asia and Pacific region which are the world's top dairy producers. A high level Pakistani dairy experts team will be visiting Polonnaruwa District to carry out a feasibility study.[24][25]

Culture

In June 2011, Pakistan presented the Government of Sri Lanka with a number of Buddhist relics from Pakistan's past.[26] A former Pakistan High Commissioner, Seema Ilahi Baloch, also sponsored the construction of a school in Gampala District.[27]

Education

Pakistan has offered scholarships to Sri Lankan students to pursue the subjects of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and engineering. The scholarships are granted under the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme (PTAP).

Health

In 2011, the Government of Sri Lanka gave medicines and staff to Punjab.[28][29] A group of 12 doctors from Sri Lanka came to Lahore to assist.[30][31][32] Pakistan thanked Sri Lanka for its assistance in containing an outbreak of dengue fever in the country last year.[12]

Sports
Shahid Afridi batting against Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 Final at Lord's in England.

In October 2017, Sri Lanka Cricket team became the first major international team to arrive in Pakistan after the terrorist attack in 2009[33][34]

See also

References
  1. "President Sirisena's visit testifies to strong bonds between Lanka and Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif | Daily FT". www.ft.lk.
  2. "The High Commission for Pakistan Colombo, Sri Lanka". Archived from the original on 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  3. "High Commission of Sri Lanka in Pakistan".
  4. "PROVISIONAL SUMMARY RESULTS OF 6TH POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS-2017". pbscensus.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 2017-10-15. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  5. "Countries by Projected GDP 2021 - StatisticsTimes.com". www.statisticstimes.com.
  6. "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2018". www.imf.org.
  7. Gurung, Shaurya Karanbir. "20% increase in Pakistan defence budget signals neighbour's intent" – via The Economic Times.
  8. "A new dawn in Pak-Sri Lanka relations". www.thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18.
  9. "Sri Lanka's participation in the 19th SAARC Summit scheduled for November 2016 in Islamabad". Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  10. "SAARC summit: Sri Lanka joins India, 3 others in boycott; Pakistan isolated". Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  11. "Sri Lanka Did Not Pull Out Of SAARC Summit, Foreign Minister Says". Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  12. "Lanka and Pakistan ink US$200 million credit line". www.sundaytimes.lk.
  13. "SriLankan Airlines wants more routes in Pakistan". Express Tribune. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  14. "Pakistan (PAK) and Sri Lanka (LKA) Trade | OEC". OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity.
  15. "Archived copy". oec.world. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "COAS reaches Sri Lanka on two-day visit". www.app.com.pk. January 16, 2018.
  17. Hashim, Asad. "Pakistan offers Sri Lanka $50m credit line for defence purchases". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  18. "Reviewing Pakistan-Sri Lanka Relations • Stimson Center". Stimson Center. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  19. Pak. to train SL spies Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine Daily Mirror - January 11, 2011
  20. "Sri Lankan army chief thanks Pakistani counterpart for 'incessant support'". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  21. "Sri Lanka calls Pakistan 'true friend'". New Indian Express. 21 May 2009.
  22. "Pakistan, Sri Lanka sign nuclear agreement". The Express Tribune. April 6, 2015.
  23. "President Sirisena thanks Pakistan for timely provision of fertilizer to Sri Lanka". dnd.com.pk. January 5, 2018.
  24. "Pakistan to establish a modern dairy farm in Lankan President's district". January 5, 2018.
  25. "High level experts team from Pakistan to visit Sri Lanka". January 5, 2018.
  26. Pakistan envoy hands over relics to S. Lankan monks Dawn - June 18, 2011
  27. Pakistan aid for school building Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine Sri Lanka Daily News - July 2, 2011
  28. "Sril Lanka's Help." Dawn News.com Accessed 12 September 2011
  29. "Sri Lankan Government Comes in Action." Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Daily Jhang.com 11 September 2011. Accessed 12 September 2011.
  30. "Sri Lankan Doctors Come to Lahore." Asian Correspondent.com Accessed 15 September 2011.
  31. "Sri Lankan doctors to assist government in dengue control." Pakistan Today.com 15 September 2011 Accessed 15 September 2011.
  32. "Pakistan opt against DRS use in Sri Lanka and England Tests." Dawn.com 12 September 2011Accessed 12 May 2013.
  33. "Lahore readies itself for that international feeling". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  34. "Sri Lankan cricket team arrives in Lahore amid tight security". The Hindu. October 29, 2017.
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