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COLOMBO, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Prime Minister and leader of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Party (SLPP) Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday sent his greetings to the Chinese leaders, government and people for the upcoming lunar New Year.
In a video congratulatory message, Rajapaksa said the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Sri Lanka and China continued to grow stronger in these challenging times as both countries joined efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Sri Lankan people deeply appreciate the assistance provided by China, as the world prepares to vaccinate the global population," he said.
The prime minister said his country appreciates China for making the Chinese vaccine a global public good and providing the vaccine assistance to 53 developing countries while expressing gratitude for the first batch of China-donated vaccines to his country.
Rajapaksa added that as a development partner, China has provided support to Sri Lanka for decades and as Sri Lanka prepares for the post-COVID economic recovery, Sri Lanka is confident that China will continue to support its future development.
Sri Lanka also looks forward to welcoming more Chinese tourists to the island country as global travels are expected to return to normalcy, he said.
"Finally, as the leader of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the Communist Party of China (CPC) for its 100th birthday and all its achievements for the past 100 years. We look forward to continuing collaborating with CPC in the years to come," Rajapaksa said. Enditem