Denying that Sri Lanka is on the verge of signing a defence pact with Pakistan, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said his government was friendly with all nations.

Responding to questions during a meeting with the Foreign Correspondents Association, Rajapaksa said that there was no agreement to boost military cooperation between the two countries. "There is no pact, we maintain friendly ties with all countries."

Diplomatic sources said that Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had submitted a draft defence cooperation agreement to Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama, on the sidelines of the Saarc Summit, held in Colombo recently.

Pakistan, presently supplies Sri Lanka with small arms and ammunition and also trains a large number of its military personnel.

Though, India has yet to respond to a Sri Lankan proposal for a defence pact, it remains uneasy about the growing military influence of Pakistan and China in Sri Lanka.