By Nawab Khan (with photos)

BRUSSELS, Jan 27 (KUNA) -- The foreign minister of Sri Lanka, Rohitha Bogollagama, underlined here Tuesday the importance of Kuwait to Sri Lanka and praised Kuwaits economic and political support to his country.

"Kuwait is a very important country in terms of Sri Lanka's bilateral engagement. We have got 250,000 Sri Lankans living in Kuwait," Bogollagama told KUNA in Brussels Tuesday.

"We have had several high level visits between Kuwait and Sri Lanka. Our President was in Kuwait in 2007 on a state visit. We really appreciate the role of the Amir of Kuwait and that of the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Kuwait who have been a major source of strength to Sri Lankas economical and political pursuits," he stressed.

"The fact that our people have been well cared for in Kuwait is something that we appreciate," said Bogollagama.

Sri Lanka looks forward to a very productive engagement in the multilateral field with Kuwait, he told KUNA.

Bogollagama visited Qatar last week and said he is looking forward to visit the region again soon.

Earlier today, speaking at a press conference the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said he was in Brussels for talks to enhance his countrys economic and political ties with the EU.

He called upon the EU to view developments in Sri Lanka with a "post-LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) paradgim".

Referring to the recent successes of Sri Lanka's army against LTTE, he said Sri Lanka has "defeated terrorism in all its forms whilst enhancing the quality of democracy".

"It is a significant development in terms of Sri Lankas roadmap for the future," he said, noting that the country has been subjected to major terror offensives and terrorist attacks since the last 27 years.

Responding to international concerns about safety of civilians caught up in the fighting, he said the Sri Lankan government has taken swift measures to establish a "safe corridor so that civilians who were being held by the LTTE as human shield in uncleared areas can escape to safe ground".

Bogollagama arrived in Brussels on Monday on a three-day visit for talks with EU Commissioners, EU Parliamentarians and the Belgian government on bilateral ties and recent developments in Sri Lanka.

Copyright Kuwait News Agency 2009.