The visit by a top legislator of China to Sri Lanka this week is expected to further strengthen the cordial ties between the two countries.
The visit by a top legislator of China to Sri Lanka this week is expected to further strengthen the cordial ties between the two countries.
Wu Bangguo, chairman of National People's Congress (NPC) who arrived in Sri Lanka Saturday on an invitation extended by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa for a four-day visit is expected to hold discussions with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
According to the Speaker, who received Wu at the airport, the visiting Chinese official is expected to visit the Colombo port on Sunday and then the Sri Lankan parliament on Monday.
The Chinese legislator will also sign 15 bilateral agreements during his visit, Chamal Rajapaksa in an interview with China's official news agency Xinhua has said Sunday.
The Speaker had met Wu during his visit to China in June and invited him to visit Sri Lanka.
The Speaker has said that Sri Lanka wants to study the Chinese parliamentary system and seek advice from Wu during his visit.
Rajapaksa, who is patron of the China-Sri Lanka Friendship Association, has hoped that both countries will develop bilateral ties in all spheres.
"China has helped us a lot. They helped us with our new port in the south. When I was the minister of ports I initiated this project," he has said.
China has been the largest donor to Sri Lanka even surpassing the Asian development bank (ADB) and World Bank with providing aids for the major infrastructure projects in the country including the Norochcholai coal power plant, Southern port, and second airport in Hambantota.
The Chinese-built Norochcholai power plant in the northwest and the Hambantota port in the South have been commissioned last year.
The Cabinet recently granted approval to the government to obtain over US$ 1 billion in loans to finance two major infrastructure projects in the Southern Province.
China's Exim Bank will finance the second phase of the Hambantota Harbor project and construct the Matara-Beliatta segment of the southern rail line expansion project.
The government also signed a US$ 382 million deal with China to undertake Moragahakanda Reservoir Project, the largest reservoir project in the country.
(CP)