ISLAMABAD, March 26: Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected to sign four memoranda of understanding during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit here this week that also promises to bolster defence cooperation between the two countries.

The MoUs will cover tourism, cultural exchanges, cooperation in railways and visa abolition for official and diplomatic passport holders, it is learnt.

President Rajapaksa is scheduled to arrive here on Friday for a three-day official visit.

He will hold formal talks with President Gen Pervez Musharraf and meet the Prime Minister during stay.

According to informed sources, defence cooperation between the countries would be strengthened as a consequence of the visit.

Indications from both Colombo and Islamabad are that the Sri Lankan President will be coming here with a defence shopping list.

Reports from Colombo suggested that the primary focus of his visit here would be purchase of military equipment from Pakistan.

Pakistan has been assisting Sri Lanka in the field of defence, a fact that was acknowledged and appreciated in the joint statement issued at the end of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s two-day visit to Colombo in November 2004.

Both sides had then agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field and to review the credit line of $20 million extended to Sri Lanka by Pakistan in 1999 for procurement of defence equipment.

It is believed that operationalisation of this credit line, that has yet to be utilised, would be among key issues to come up for discussions during President Rajapaksa’s talks here. President Rajapaksa will be accompanied by five-members of his cabinet, including ministers of foreign affairs, commerce, education and fisheries and restructuring. His 45-member official delegation would also include governor of a province, members of parliament and senior officials.

The Sri Lankan president will also visit Lahore and Karachi, from where he will fly back to Colombo on Sunday.

This will be his first visit to Pakistan after taking over as the president in November last. Even as the prime minister, he never visited Pakistan. His visit is seen as part of the regular top level exchanges between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a news briefing last week that relationship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was based on principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and mutual respect.

She pointed out that Pakistan and Sri Lanka had worked closely on the bilateral level as well as in international forums like the Commonwealth, NAM and Saarc.