Minister for Foreign Affairs Bimala Rai Paudyal on Saturday called on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo.

During the courtesy call, Minister Paudyal underscored the need for further strengthening Nepal-Sri Lanka economic cooperation, particularly in the areas of culture and tourism, the Nepali Embassy in Colombo said in a statement.

Minister Paudyal also met her Sri Lankan counterpart M.U.M. Ali Sabry and discussed the matters of bilateral cooperation including establishing air connectivity between Bhairahawa and Colombo, holding the meeting of Nepal-Sri Lanka Joint Commission at an early date and deepening cooperation in the field of agriculture, education, energy and climate change.

The two foreign ministers also reflected on the ways of resuming the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation process during the meeting, according to the statement.

The foreign minister also held meetings with the Foreign Minister of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh A. K. Abdul Momen and the State Minister for External Affairs of India V. Muraleedharan.

During the meeting with her Maldivian counterpart, the foreign minister expressed her willingness to conclude the proposed memorandum of understanding on the recruitment of medical professionals from Nepal at an early date.

The foreign minister highlighted the ways and means of enhancing cooperation in the power sector during her meeting with her Bangladeshi counterpart.

Likewise, while meeting her Indian counterpart, the foreign minister underscored the need for the timely completion of projects under Nepal-India development cooperation, particularly in the areas of energy, infrastructure and cross-border connectivity.

Foreign Minister Paudyal, who left on a four-day Sri Lanka visit on Thursday, is scheduled to return to Kathmandu today.