PM meets Sri Lankan Speaker

The visiting Speaker of the Sri Lankan parliament W.J.M Lokubandara called on Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the latter's official residence, Friday morning.

The ongoing peace process in Nepal including matters of mutual interest featured prominently in the nearly half hour long meeting between the two leaders, it has been learnt.

The two leaders also discussed the prospects of development of Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha.

PM's foreign affairs advisor Dr. Suresh Chalise told media persons after the meeting that Lokubandara had shown "keen interest" in the development of Lumbini and that the two leaders also discussed about starting a direct flight between Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Sri Lanka is a largely Buddhist dominated country, more than 80 percent of its population are Buddhists.

Lokubandara who arrived in Nepal on a 4-day official visit at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart Subas Chandra Nemwang is returning to his country Friday. nepalnews.com ag Aug 17 07