20 May 2007…. Upon the directives of Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and within the framework of continuing to enhance relations with progressing Asian countries, Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs, Ambassador Shawaee Ismail is currently conducting a tour in south Asian countries to hold a series of political deliberations on the level of Assistant Foreign Ministers. The Ambassador started his tour by visiting Sri Lanka, where a session of political consultations was held with senior officials in the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry. The consultations tackled different aspects of the bilateral relations on the political and economic levels, in addition to regional and international issues of common interest. The Assistant Foreign Minister also met with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, where he delivered a written message to him from Ahmed Aboul Gheit in which the latter invited him to visit Egypt as soon as possible, on the occasion of celebrating the 50th Anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between both countries, and to discuss further bilateral cooperation. Both sides agreed on the importance of increasing the amount of trade exchange between both countries especially that the current number, which is approximately 27 million Dollars, does not reflect the strength of the political relations and the available potentials to boost the cooperation opportunities. They also agreed upon the value of activating the existing agreements, as well as discussing the possibility of reaching a preferential trade agreement between both countries, since it can contribute to boosting trade exchange. Both sides also expressed their keenness to hold the third round of the joint ministerial committee as soon as possible to discuss the various relation aspects in detail and eliminate the obstacles hindering it, in addition to exploring its future horizons.