President returns after successful visit to Nepal

President Maithripala Sirisena, who has been selected as the Chairman of the 5th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), returned to the Island yesterday (02) after completing a successful state visit to Nepal and attending the  4th Summit of the BIMSTEC held in Kathmandu.

A special ceremony was organized at the Bandaranaike International Airport to receive the President who arrived in the country as the new Chairman of the 5th Summit of the BIMSTEC.

President Sirisena who reached at the Bandaranaike International Airport around 10.20 p.m. escorted to the VVIP lounge on the red carpet.Later, Seth Pirith chanted by Mahasangha to invoke blessings on the President and other religious rituals were also held to invoke blessings on the President.

The BIMSTEC is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia -Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia -Myanmar and Thailand.

During the conclusion of the 4th Summit of the BIMSTEC the Chairmanship of the 5th Summit of the BIMSTEC handed over to President Maithripala Sirisena.

All the state leaders extended their best wishes to the President for his new appointment as the Chairman of the BIMSTEC and they expressed confidence that the functions of the BIMSTEC will move forward with strength under the leadership of the President Sirisena.

Meanwhile, President Sirisena who engaged in a two-day official visit in Nepal held bi- lateral discussions with the President of Nepal Bhidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister K.P.Oli. There they entered into several agreements to make a close connection to develop economical, social and cultural ties between both nations where two agreements were signed in order to uplift the cooperation youth affairs and training of government officers.

Apart from that, President Maithripala Sirisena also held discussions with  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modhi, President of Myanmar Win Myint, Bangladesh Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina where those leaders promised to provide fullest assistance to economic and social development activities in Sri Lanka.