COLOMBO: For the first time, Sri Lanka's Central Bank has minted two gold and one silver commemorative coins to mark the centenary of the Communist Party of China and celebrate the 65th anniversary of bilateral relations with Beijing.
The last time a gold coin was issued by Sri Lanka was in 1998 to celebrate the country's 50th anniversary of independence from Britain.
This is for the first time ever that Sri Lanka has issued coins to honour a political party of a foreign country.
The coins have been issued at the request of the government as an accolade for long-standing friendship and mutual trust between the two countries, the bank said.
The commemorative coins are of rupees 1,000 denominations.
In 2012, the Central Bank had issued a nickel-plated silver coin to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Japan.
China's ruling Communist Party celebrated its 100th anniversary on Thursday at Tiananmen Square, with thousands of party workers and school children singing songs praising the party and the country.
Addressing the centenary celebrations, President Xi Jinping called for building a strong military to defend the country and warned that the Chinese people will never allow any foreign force to "bully, oppress, or subjugate them".
Founded by Mao Zedong on July 1, 1921, the CPC formally completed 100 years of existence on Thursday.
It also remained in power since the People's Republic of China (PRC) was formed in 1949.