ISLAMABAD: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov on Sunday congratulated Imran Khan on assuming the office of prime minister.

While conveying his compliments over the phone, the Sri Lankan prime minister underscored the importance of both countries working together in diverse areas of mutual interest to further strengthen bilateral relations, according to an official press release issued by the PM Secretariat.

PM Imran Khan thanked his Sri Lankan counterpart for the congratulatory phone call. He noted that while both countries enjoyed friendly ties, there was a need to galvanise the bilateral relations in all spheres, including political, economic, defence and tourism. He conveyed good wishes for continued progress of Sri Lanka and its people.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov has congratulated Mr Khan on his election as the prime minister of Pakistan and wished him success in his future endeavours for the welfare of the people, adds APP.

In a translated message issued by the Azeri embassy on Sunday, Mr Mammadov said that Azerbaijan and Pakistan had close relations originating from the will of their friendly people. He expressed the hope that the bilateral cooperation based on mutual confidence, trust and support would further improve and expand by their joint efforts in the years ahead, congenial to the interests of the two states and their people.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018