Sri Lankan president visits Australia to talk trade, cooperation

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-24 13:34:47|Editor: Zhou Xin
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SYDNEY, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena kicked off his visit to Australia on Wednesday, aiming at boosting trade and cooperation.

Australia imports around 171 million Australian dollars (127.38 million U.S. dollars) of Sri Lankan goods every year, with apparel, rubber products, clay construction materials and the nation's renowned teas making up the majority of purchases.

For the Sri Lankans, 218 million Australian dollars (209.34 million U.S. dollars) of cargo is imported annually from Australia, with the most popular items including dairy, vegetables, paper, animal feed and lentils.

"Our deep and enduring friendship is anchored in shared history as commonwealth countries and through our shared interests as Indian Ocean nations," Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement.

Discussion will focus on new ways to kickstart more diverse cooperation areas like education, defence, science, technology and broader economic development.

Also said to be high on the agenda are talks focused on combating people smuggling operations in the Indian Ocean.

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