JEDDAH, 22 July — Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit Saudi Arabia soon to invite Prince Abdullah, the regent, for a state visit to the Indian Ocean island state.

This was conveyed to the prince during a reception he hosted for a Sri Lankan delegation, led by Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ravi Karunanayake, at Al-Salam Palace here yesterday.

"I also handed over to the prince a message from our prime minister," Krunanayake said in an interview with Arab News at the VIP lounge of King Abdul Aziz International Airport before leaving for Bahrain en route to Qatar.

Present at the reception were Director of Intelligence Prince Nawaf, Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah and Prince Bandar ibn Salman, both advisors at the Royal Court, and Minister of Commerce Osama Faqeeh as well as Sri Lankan Ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar.

"We expressed our sincere thanks to the prince for what Saudi Arabia has done for Sri Lanka and hoped for the Kingdom’s continued support. We also mentioned that the new government now in power had inherited a poor economy with high budget deficits and growing unemployment. We look upon the Kingdom and other friendly nations to help us make the economy vibrant through investments as soon as possible. We also congratulated the regent for his Middle East peace initiative that received worldwide acclaim and Sri Lanka’s support."

According to Karunanayake, the regent, on his part, welcomed the peace accord signed by the Sri Lankan government ending the 22-year civil war. He also paid tributes to the 300,000 Sri Lankan expatriates in the Kingdom for their contribution to the Saudi economy.

Referring to the meetings the delegation had here and earlier in Riyadh both at ministerial and chamber of commerce and industry levels, the minister said: "We explored two areas during the discussion — making Jeddah online once again for our national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines in view of the island’s growing Umrah traffic and, secondly, further expanding cooperation in matters of bilateral commerce and trade."

The minister said the delegation had meetings at the Riyadh and Jeddah chambers of commerce and also with local businessmen in which the island’s need for overseas investments was stressed and areas identified.

He added that Sri Lankan Airlines currently operated two flights each from Riyadh and Dammam and the frequency could be increased by making Jeddah online once again with at least one flight a week. "Saudi Arabian Airlines, which also operates four flights a week to the island state, should also similarly increase its frequency under a reciprocal arrangement," he said.

The delegation’s meeting at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry was chaired by its Secretary General Dr. Majed Qasabi. It later interacted with local businessmen, with some of them evincing interest as investors.

Earlier on Saturday, Karunanayake told a press conference at the Royal Conference in Riyadh that the well-known Saudi firm Rajab and Silsila had confirmed its decision to invest SR 50 million in Sri Lanka’s power sector. The minister said an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation would be ratified in Colombo within two months. He said both countries had signed the draft accord two years ago to protect and promote joint ventures. "There were matters of mutual concern. We’ve now come forward

clearing roadblocks and impediments. The Minister of Foreign Affairs will ratify and sign an agreement hopefully within the next two months," he said.

The agreement provides for strengthening bilateral ties in the economic, cultural, sports and trade fields. It calls for a regular exchange of ideas between officials on both sides as well as at the ministerial level. All these aspects have been embodied in the agreement due to be signed in Colombo.

He also disclosed that a liaison office will be set up in Riyadh and another in Sri Lanka for promoting goods and services of both countries. The move comes against the background of the bilateral trade that Sri Lanka sees as lop-sided. The total exports from Saudi Arabia to Sri Lanka were SR 404 million, while Saudi imports from Sri Lanka were worth SR 128 million. "We want to rectify this anomaly and expand the trade in both directions," the minister added.

During his talks with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce he found there were 25 potential Saudi investors keen to invest in Sri Lanka. "They showed interest in tourism, textiles, agriculture and other areas that we are concentrating on."

During his stay in the capital, he held talks with Minister of Finance & National Economy Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf and Minister of Commerce Osama Faqeeh. He also met with Saudi businessmen as well as senior officials at the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).