Colombo, Apr 24 (IANS): A group of Pakistani investors arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday to explore investment opportunities in the island nation in the fields of health, housing, tourism, science and technology.

The Pakistani delegation met President Maithripala Sirisena in Colombo, during which special emphasis was also given to building highways and oil exploration, reports Xinhua news agency.

The investors also expressed their interest in constructing a state-of-the-art hospital in Sri Lanka to perform heart surgeries and to build two tourism zones as well as to construct a low-cost new housing scheme.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan recently agreed to redouble trade promotion efforts to reach the target of $1 billion in trade by the end of 2018.

Pakistan is the second largest trading partner of Sri Lanka in the SAARC region.

The value of total trade between the two countries has increased from $158 million in 2005 to $423.06 million in 2017.