Pakistan, Sri Lanka seek to boost tourism, cultural exchanges

Islamabad

By APP

August 10, 2026

Islamabad:Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan H.E. Fred Senevirathne held a meeting with Prime Minister’s Advisor on Tourism Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in tourism, culture, education and people-to-people exchanges.

The meeting, held at Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan’s office, focused on expanding tourism collaboration between Sri Lanka and Pakistan and exploring new initiatives to promote greater interaction between the two countries. During the cordial meeting, the two sides discussed matters of mutual interest, with particular emphasis on strengthening longstanding bilateral relations through enhanced cooperation in tourism.

High Commissioner Senevirathne briefed the Pakistani tourism adviser on Sri Lanka’s current political and economic situation and highlighted the country’s diverse tourism potential and promotional initiatives aimed at attracting international visitors.

He also outlined plans to organize a Sri Lanka Tea Tasting Day, Sri Lanka Food Festival and Sri Lanka Tourism Road Show in Islamabad. The initiatives are aimed at introducing Sri Lanka’s renowned tea, cuisine, cultural traditions, heritage and diverse tourism destinations to the Pakistani public, travel industry and other stakeholders.

The discussions also covered opportunities to expand cooperation in religious, medical and adventure tourism, which offer significant potential for increasing tourist exchanges between the two countries.

The two sides further explored the possibility of establishing travel operators’ and student exchange programmes to facilitate professional, educational and cultural interaction. High Commissioner Senevirathne also proposed a chefs’ training and exchange programme, providing culinary professionals from both countries an opportunity to share expertise and showcase the rich and distinctive food traditions of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Welcoming the proposed initiatives, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan suggested developing an Annual Tourism Promotional Events Calendar to ensure better coordination and continuity of tourism-related activities between the two countries.

Source: The News Pakistan