Pakistan–Sri Lanka relations (, , ) refer to bilateral relations between

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Both countries are located in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. The earliest proper diplomatic and trade contacts between Pakistan (previously the

Dominion of Pakistan The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

) and Sri Lanka (previously the

Dominion of Ceylon Ceylons:Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947, The Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947 uses the name "Ceylon" for the new dominion; nowhere does that Act use the term "Dominion of Ceylon", which although sometimes used was not the official name. was an ...

) date back as early as 1948. In 2013, the then prime minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

said that there were strong bonds of friendship between the two countries. There is a Pakistani High Commission in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, and a Sri Lankan High Commission in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

Country Comparison

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 The prime minister of Sri Lanka, officially the prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's exec ...

DS Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake (; ; 20 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, having emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of ...

visited

. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are both

Commonwealth republic The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are the sovereign states in the organisation with a republican form of government. , 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. While Charles III is the titular Head of the Commonwealth, the King ...

Diplomatic relations

Sri Lanka avoided joining the boycott of the

19th SAARC summit The 19th SAARC summit was a scheduled diplomatic conference which was originally planned to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 15–19 November 2016, but got cancelled after an attack on an Indian army camp in Kashmir. The summit was to be atten ...

that was scheduled to be held in November 2016 in

Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. 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 Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera (, ; 21 April 1956 – 24 August 2021) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first openly gay politician in Sri Lanka. He served as Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2019, and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, f ...

debunked the claims saying that General Provisions of the Charter of

SAARC The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...

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.

Economic relations

On February 12, 2012, a credit line for US$200 million was one of three memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The MoUs were signed during

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

’s official visit to Pakistan, on the invitation of

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

. In 2012,

Sri Lankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon. As of t ...

invited

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...

to operate more flights to Sri Lanka.

Trade and investment

Defense Cooperation

On January 16, 2018, Pakistani Army Chief,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Qamar Javed Bajwa Qamar Javed Bajwa (; born 11 November 1960) is a retired Pakistani four-star general who served as the tenth chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018, he was ranked 68th in the ''Forbes'' list of ...

reached

on a two-day official visit on the invitation from his counterpart. 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.

Military Assistance & Training

Pakistan has provided training to the Sri Lankan military, included Sri Lankan former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and also military exercises. Pakistan offered training to Sri Lanka for intelligence gathering. Apart from traditional military assistance to Sri Lanka, Pakistan has also offered to train

Sri Lanka Police Sri Lanka Police (; ) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the p ...

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.

Growing ties

In 2009, shortly after the defeat of the

Tamil Tiger The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...

rebels in Sri Lanka,

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..."

Nuclear energy deal

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

Agriculture

In January 2018, amid a shortage of fertilizer in Sri Lanka,

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...

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 The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

had contacted

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (born 27 December 1958) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 18th prime minister of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2017 to May 2018. He also currently leads Awaam Pakistan (AP) as ...

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,

expressed his gratitude towards the

prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

and the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

for timely provision of fertilizer to Sri Lanka to curb the shortage. Pakistan is to establish a modern

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

Polonnaruwa District Polonnaruwa District (; ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. It is also one of the two districts of North Central Province and has an area of 3,293 km2. The district is adminis ...

in North Central Sri Lanka which is the home district of the former Sri Lankan President

. 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

to carry out a feasibility study.

Culture

In June 2011, Pakistan presented the

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...

with a number of

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s from Pakistan's past. A former Pakistan High Commissioner, Seema Ilahi Baloch, also sponsored the construction of a school in Gampala District.

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

gave medicines and staff to Punjab. A group of 12 doctors from

came to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

to assist. Pakistan thanked Sri Lanka for its assistance in containing an outbreak of dengue fever in the country last year.

Sports

In October 2017,

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

became the first major international team to arrive in

after the terrorist attack in 2009

References

External links

Pakistan Sri Lanka Business Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan-Sri Lanka relations

Bilateral relations of Sri Lanka Pakistan and the Commonwealth of Nations Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth of Nations