MANILA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will pay a state visit to the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.
In a statement, the DFA said the Sri Lankan president will meet with his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte next Wednesday "to hold bilateral discussions on areas of mutual interest, including political, economic, cultural and people-to-people engagement."
The DFA said Sirisena is also scheduled to visit the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Sirisena's visit will be the first by a Sri Lankan president serving both as head of state and government under Sri Lanka's 1978 Constitution, and the second by a Sri Lankan leader since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 1961.
