On the second day of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to Colombo, Pakistan agreed to sell eight aircraft to Sri Lanka, in the first successful deal to sell the jets which Pakistan has been trying to sell for some time.
JF-17 Thunder is already part of Pakistan Air Force and has been successfully used to strike terrorist hideouts in northwestern tribal region.
The deal was reached during the three-day trip of Sharif to Colombo that also saw the two sides signing eight agreements in the fields of education, science and technology, healthcare, agriculture, tourism, sporting contacts, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.
Sharif said both sides expressed their satisfaction at the existing bilateral cooperation in the field of defence.
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He conveyed his desire for more frequent port calls, participation in military exercises and fence seminars and training of military personnel.
His trip comes eight months after President Sirisena's visit to Pakistan in April last year.
Sharif also invited Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to make a return visit to Pakistan at an early date so that the relations of mutual trust and confidence can be further enhanced.
Islamabad and Colombo grew closer during Lanka's civil war by supplying arms to fight the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who sought an independent state for ethnic minority Tamils.
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Sharif also conveyed Pakistan's readiness to welcome Sri Lankan investment in his country.
"We have also expressed satisfaction on the work of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Joint Economic Commission in promoting bilateral trade," he said.
Sharif noted that Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoy excellent relations, based on mutual respect and shared interests.
"They are marked by cordiality and commonality of views on major regional and global issues and close cooperation in the multilateral forums. Both sides wish to further deepen and broaden these ties through regular high-level contacts and exchange of visits.
Highlighting that Sri Lanka enjoys exceptional position of being the first country with which Pakistan entered into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Sharif added: "We also discussed the issues related to the implementation of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.
"The two countries have agreed on the inclusion of Services and Investments chapters in the bilateral FTA. This would enable our companies to form joint ventures for export to third countries."
Sharif said that he reiterated Pakistan's offer to set up cement and sugar plants in Sri Lanka on mutually agreed terms for the long-term benefit of Lankan economy.