RAWALPINDI, Oct 1: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that harmony and increased cooperation among the South Asian countries would help bring sustained progress and prosperity to the one-fifth of humanity living in the region.

He said this at a meeting with a five-member delegation of Sri Lankan intellectuals and senior editors that called on the president on Wednesday afternoon.

Gen Musharraf spoke about the South Asian region in the context of enhancing mutual cooperation within the Saarc member states. He said Pakistan “greatly values” its friendly relations with Sri Lanka.

This relationship, he said, had gained strength not only between the governments of the two countries but also at the people-to-people level.

The president expressed the hope that more such exchanges between the two countries would further strengthen the existing cordial relations.

During the course of the call, the members of the Sri Lankan delegation Pakistan had stood by their country in the most difficult periods of its history, which was a fact appreciated by every Sri Lankan.—APP