ISLAMABAD, Dec 2 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday expressed their shared commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation across all spheres.
The commitment was expressed during a telephonic call between the prime minister and the Sri Lankan President.
During their warm and cordial conversation, the prime minister expressed his profound grief over the devastating loss of life and widespread destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka.
The prime minister conveyed heartfelt condolences to the people and Government of Sri Lanka, especially the bereaved families who had lost their loved ones in the catastrophic floods and landslides that claimed hundreds of precious lives and displaced thousands of people across the island.
The prime minister commended the swift response of the Sri Lankan authorities, military, and rescue teams in conducting relief operations under challenging conditions.
While recalling Pakistan’s own vulnerability to climate change induced calamities, he reaffirmed that Pakistan stood in complete solidarity with Sri Lanka during this most challenging situation.
The prime minister conveyed to the Sri Lankan president that, as a gesture of its support, Pakistan was immediately dispatching urgently needed humanitarian assistance to assist the people of Sri Lanka to help them recover from the devastation caused by this natural disaster.
The Sri Lankan president thanked the prime minister for Pakistan’s expression of solidarity with the Sri Lankan nation at this difficult time, as well as for provision of the generous humanitarian assistance. He appreciated that Pakistan was among the first countries to respond in the wake of the cyclone.