High-powered Chinese Delegation to visit Colombo, today

COLOMBO (News 1st): A high-powered Chinese delegation led by former Chinese Foreign Minister and the current Communist Party Political Bureau Member - Yang Jiechi, is expected to arrive in Colombo today (Oct. 08), the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday (Oct. 07). The visiting Chinese delegation is expected to meet with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tomorrow (Oct. 09), Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The travel bubble set up for the purpose of this important visit will confine the delegation to Colombo and restrict their engagements to just two meetings with the Head of State and the Prime Minister, under strict health guidelines prescribed by the Ministry of Health," the statement further read. Foreign Ministry statement also stated that, "Being the first-ever Chinese visit in the South Asian region, since the global COVID-19 pandemic, the visit is expected to strengthen cooperation between Sri Lanka and China, in the areas of combating the global pandemic and revival of economic relations."