President Moon Jae-in (center) poses for photos with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Nov. 28 at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul.

By Yoon Sojung

Photos = Cheong Wa Dae 

President Moon Jae-in and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena visited Jogyesa Temple in Seoul on Nov. 28, a day ahead of their scheduled bilateral summit meeting. 

The two leaders visited the temple, headquarters to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, where they paid tribute at the main building and held a meeting with Venerable Seol Jeong. 

Mentioning that both Korea and Sri Lanka have Buddhist culture in common, President Moon said, “Sri Lanka is a good partner country for Korea to share our experiences with.”

“President Sirisena and I also share similar beliefs in the management of state affairs as both of us put priority on people, democracy, human rights and eliminating corruption,” said President Moon.

“Both countries have achieved brilliant development in bilateral relations over the last 40 years. We will be good partners for each other and will enjoy another 40 years of further development together.” 

President Sirisena expressed gratitude to President Moon for putting aside time for the meeting by saying, “I and the Sri Lankan people are greatly honored to receive a welcome from you outside of the official schedule tomorrow.”

“We are glad to mark the 40th anniversary of the Korea-Sri Lanka diplomatic relationship, and we hope to build the bilateral relationship even firmer in the future,” said the Sri Lankan president. 

President Moon Jae-in and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena visit Jogyesa Temple in Seoul on Nov. 28.

President Moon Jae-in and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena hold a tea meeting with Venerable Seoljeong at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul on Nov. 28.

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