The newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Sri Lanka Abdul Asia bin Al Jemaz, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister on July 7 at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister and the Ambassador exchanged views on bilateral relations which they agreed were very close and friendly. The Prime Minister recalled that Sri Lanka had very close relations with the Kingdom for a long time and referred to the state visit to the Kingdom by the late Prime Minister Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike in the seventies.

The Ambassador mentioned that there were over half a million Sri Lankans employed in the Kingdom and they were playing an important role as the largest expatritiate community. He mentioned that they were looking for land in Colombo to build their own Embassy.