Sri Lankan President leaves for Germany, Austria to strengthen economic, trade ties

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday left for an official visit to Germany to further strengthening the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, his office said here.

During his visit, the president is also expected to grab many economic and developments benefits to Sri Lanka.

A special ceremony will be held under the patronage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to welcome the Sri Lankan President on Feb. 17.

Sirisena is also scheduled to visit the German Parliament and meet representatives of the Parliament. Subsequent to that the President is also expected to hold bilateral discussions with the German Foreign Minister.

A special discussion between the president and the German Economic Affairs Minister is also scheduled to be held.

Germany is one of the economically powerful member States of the European Union and one of the largest export economies in the world. Sirisena's visit is the first time in 43 years that a Sri Lankan Head of State is visiting the country.

After concluding the 2-day visit to Germany Sirisena will leave for Austria where he is expected to have talks with a high level Austrian delegation including with the Austrian President.

Sirisena is also scheduled to meet the Austrian business community. The aim of the tour is to further collaborate and strengthen the relations between the two countries. Enditem