ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed to establish a joint working group to strengthen cooperation on illegal migration, visa issues, forged travel documents and transnational crime, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ananda Wijepala at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
According to the official statement, the two ministers discussed expanding cooperation between their interior ministries, particularly in border security, immigration, policing, counter-narcotics and police training.
“The ministers agreed to establish a joint working group to enhance cooperation between the two interior ministries,” the statement said, adding that both sides also agreed to prioritise the resolution of visa-related issues.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka also decided to strengthen coordination to curb illegal migration and prevent travel using forged passports. Immigration chiefs from both countries will coordinate more closely on these matters.
The meeting comes as Pakistan has intensified action against human smuggling and forged travel documents following several deadly migrant boat tragedies involving Pakistani nationals in recent years.
Pakistani authorities said this week that more than 1,700 human smugglers were arrested last year. Officials said these efforts contributed to a 47 percent decline in illegal migration to Europe.
Pakistan has also introduced an artificial intelligence-based immigration screening system to detect forged travel documents and prevent illegal departures.
Naqvi and Wijepala also discussed a memorandum of understanding aimed at combating criminal networks and money laundering.
Officials said the enhanced cooperation would help both countries improve immigration controls, strengthen law enforcement coordination and address organised networks involved in illegal movement, document fraud and financial crimes.
