ISLAMABAD - The fifth round of foreign secretaries-level bilateral political consultations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was held in Colombo on Tuesday, a foreign ministry statement issued here said.

Pakistan delegation was headed by the Foreign Secretary, Tehmina Janjua, while the Sri Lankan delegation was led by the Foreign Secretary, Prasad Kariyawasam, the statement said.

During the bilateral consultations, both the foreign secretaries noted with satisfaction the close and friendly relations, routed in history, which have strengthened over the years, it said.  It was agreed to further consolidate the bilateral relations in all areas of mutual importance, the statement said.

The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. The prospects of cooperation in trade, investment, defence, education, science and technology, culture, tourism, capacity building, immigration issues and sports were discussed in detail.

The two sides also reviewed legal, protocol and consular matters.

It was also agreed that Joint Working Groups would oversee the implementation of the agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed between the two countries.

Both sides concurred to expand the ambit of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.

Sri Lanka welcomed the extension of credit lines of $200 million and $10 million by Pakistan and it was agreed to ensure their early implementation.

The foreign secretary highlighted the grave human rights violations perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir against the innocent Kashmiris.

She emphasised that the international community should urge India to immediately put an end to these atrocities and to ensure the early resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, as per the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

The two foreign secretaries also reviewed cooperation at international and regional fora and agreed to jointly work to make the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) a vibrant regional organisation.

Appreciating the effectiveness of the foreign secretary-level consultations, it was decided to hold the next round of consultations in Islamabad in October, 2018.