Sri Lankan President announces that his country’s Prime Minister will soon visit Pakistan
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has ordered Pakistan’s immediate removal from all ‘negative’ visa lists after a meeting with Federal Interior Minister and CCP Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
The development is seen as an important step towards alleviating travel woes of Pakistani citizens and strengthening bilateral ties.
During the meeting, Naqvi raised the issue of visa difficulties faced by Pakistani nationals. Quickly taking note of this situation, President Dissanayake ordered the authorities to remove Pakistan from all negative visa categories, thereby providing relief to Pakistani travelers and the business community.
Met today with Pakistani Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain. We reaffirmed our enduring friendship and appreciated Pakistan’s support to Sri Lanka in difficult times. The visiting Pakistani delegation conveyed special thanks… pic.twitter.com/v2wcIvlzJZ
– Anura Kumara Dissanayake (@anuradisanayake) February 16, 2026
The Sri Lankan president also announced that his country’s Prime Minister would soon visit Pakistan.
Read: India-Pakistan: Cricket’s hottest ticket sparks T20 World Cup fever
Discussions during the meeting focused on cooperation in the fight against terrorism, counter-narcotics and joint training of security forces.
President Dissanayake expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s support to Sri Lanka in difficult times and thanked Islamabad for agreeing to play a T20 World Cup match against India in Colombo, terming it as a goodwill gesture.
In a post on his handle Naqvi praised the Sri Lankan President’s role in promoting Pakistan-Sri Lanka relations and conveyed an invitation from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to visit Pakistan.
He also thanked the Sri Lankan leadership for the arrangements and hospitality extended to the Pakistani delegation during the T20 World Cup.
