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From Ranil Wijayapala in Kuala Lumpur

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe assured on Wednesday that the withdrawal of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from peace talks in April was "temporary" and that a ceasefire observed since February last year still holds.

"They are not resorting to armed conflict and they are committed to finding a peaceful solution. We have no reason to disbelieve that," he told a group of high-profile Malaysian businessmen at a meeting organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute of Kuala Lumpur.

The government was confident talks could be revived, but he expected negotiations to be tough because the outcome would "determine the pattern of the political system". "The next round, when it begins, will go on for sometime. It is going to be a crucial round and there will be hard bargaining on our side," he told the luncheon meeting.

The Prime Minister said he is committed to create an expanded market for the investors in Sri Lanka after entering bilateral and regional trade agreements to secure a better market for them. He said Sri Lanka wanted closer ties with the region because a failure in World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks which began Wednesday in Cancun, Mexico, would have "tremendous repercussions" on its economy. The Premier said the Indian Government has agreed to review the free trade agreement with Sri Lanka. He said the government confronted with several problems over the free trade agreement with India and added that a reviewed agreement will be announced at the end of the year enabling Sri Lanka to benefit more from the agreement.

"Through this agreement the government expects to have access to the Indian market and create a bigger market for investors in Sri Lanka", the Premier said. He said the government has entered to an Investment Framework Agreement with the US government and was working towards signing a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The government is committed to protect the investors through bilateral and multilateral agreement and through constitutional provisions, he explained.

The business community in Malaysia showed a marked interest in the peace process in Sri Lanka as they are keen on investing in Sri Lanka. Chairman Telekom Malaysia Radzi Mansor who is also the trustee of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute said he was impressed with the peace process in Sri Lanka, adding that Sri Lanka is one of the countries where his company was performing well.

He said his company was one of the first companies to enter the Northern and Eastern parts of the country within three months after the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement.

The business community in Malaysia also commended the role played by Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Malaysia Rosy Senanayake to encourage Malaysian businessmen to invest in Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also held individual meetings with leading businessmen in Malaysia during his two days stay in Malaysia.

He had one-to-one meetings with Tan Sri Radzi Mansor, Chairman Telekom Malaysia, Mr. Ralph Marshall, Chief Executive Officer of the Astro/Maxis Group and Mr. Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam, Executive Chairman of West Port of Malaysia.

The Minister for vanni rehabilitation Noordeen Mashoor said foreign investment in Sri Lanka has increased since the ceasefire last year, with "marked improvement" particularly in tourism. Malaysian Works Minister S. Samy Vellu said the expressway project linking Colombo to Kandy, a popular tourism and religious destination, was awarded on a government-to-government basis. Malaysia is also looking at another possible road project connecting the expressway to the capital's Katunayake airport and working on a development project for Kandy.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe concluded his two-day official visit to Malaysia last evening. The visit was aimed at wooing leading businessmen in Malaysia to invest in Sri Lanka and further strengthening long-standing bilateral relationship between the two countries.

The Malaysian government expressed its commitment towards helping the Sri Lankan government, as they were pleased with the ongoing peace process and economic policies of the country.

The Malaysian media gave wider coverage to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit. Two leading Tamil newspapers Tamil Nesan, Malaysian Nanban published Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's press conference as their headlines news story.

There was keen interest among journalists in Malaysia to know more about the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka from the Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.

Minister Assisting Vanni Rehabilitation Noordeen Mashoor and Secretary to Prime Minister Bradman Weerakoon also accompanied the Prime Minister during this two days visit.

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