By Adnan Hameed TWA ______ In a significant act of humanitarian aid, Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary, Mrs. Aruni Yasodha Wijewardana, donated five eye corneas to Pakistan's Foreign Secretary, Mr. Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, during the Foreign Secretary level consultations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Islamabad on July 30, 2024. This noble gesture highlights the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two nations. These eye corneas, gifted by the Sri Lankan people, were promptly transplanted to five valiant Pakistan Military personnel at the Pakistan Military Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi on the same day. This act of compassion and medical support underscores the solidarity between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Sri Lanka has a proud history of eye cornea donations to Pakistan, having contributed more than 36,000 corneas since 1965. This initiative was originally spearheaded by the late Deshamannya Dr. Hudson Silva, the founder of the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society, whose legacy of generosity continues to benefit countless individuals in need. The transfer of these five eye corneas was made possible through the financial support of Mr. Idris Admani, President of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Friendship Society, and the coordinated efforts of Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Colombo, Major General (R) Faheem-Ul-Aziz, HI(M). Earlier, The 7th Round of Bilateral Political Consultations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was successfully concluded at the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, in Islamabad, yesterday (30). The consultations were held after a gap of over three years, with the 6th round being held virtually in December 2020. The text of the joint-statement issued by the two sides: “The consultations, which comprehensively reviewed the current status of the relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan were co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane and the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi. The areas of cooperation that were discussed at the meeting included economy and trade, defence and security, education, culture, media and sports, consular matters, agriculture as well as technology. The two sides also discussed their cooperation at multilateral and regional fora, and the Sri Lanka delegation particularly thanked Pakistan for the steadfast support that it has been extending to Sri Lanka over the years at multilateral fora. Pakistan delegation commended the leadership and the people of Sri Lanka in stabilizing the debt crisis and stated that Pakistan could learn from Sri Lanka’s experience. Both Sri Lanka and Pakistan stressed the importance of high-level political exchanges in enhancing the bilateral relations. In this context, a Foreign Ministerial visit to Pakistan is envisaged in the near future. The delegations agreed on the need to increase connectivity and bilateral trade in enhancing economic growth, in particular air connectivity, between the two countries. Tourism and people-to-people contacts could be further enhanced through cultural, religious and sports links. The two sides also agreed to cooperate in meeting challenges of transnational organized crime such as drug trafficking which adversely impact both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. At the conclusion of the meeting, Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane handed over to Foreign Secretary of Pakistan five eye corneas donated by the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society, in keeping with the long tradition of Sri Lanka donating corneas to restore sight and, of late, of mainly victims of IED blasts there. Sri Lanka’s delegation to the Consultations included the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Admiral (retd.) Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Islamabad. The Pakistan side was led by Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi and comprised senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. The next round of Sri Lanka-Pakistan Bilateral Political Consultations will be held in Colombo at a mutually agreed date.