According to an official, China has been regarding the issuance of the VOA facility for Sri Lankans. At present, India, Singapore and the Maldives are the Asian countries which extend this visa facility.
When questioned about China’s stance in providing Lankans with entry visas on arrival, Huang Xilian, Deputy Director General for Asia at the Chinese Foreign Ministry replied that with the count of individuals visiting each other’s nations for the sake of leisure and business having risen over the years, it would be a good arrangement to bring into effect.
According to Yi Xianliang, China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, during the past three months, there had been an increase of 160% in the count of Chinese visitors to Sri Lanka. He recollected the meeting he had with a delegation from China that had come on a tour to Colombo six times to render advice on the treatment of diseases of the kidney and for the set-up of medical laboratories.
Speaking about his opinion on President Maithripala Srirsena’s visit to China, he added that it would be a good chance to further bolster relations between the two countries.
