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India and Sri Lanka will begin "negotiations at the earliest" for the Indo-Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the defence agreement, which were announced during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's two-day visit to India.

Government sources said the Prime Minister has instructed the relevant authorities to begin the process of negotiations without delay for the mutual benefit of both countries.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, addressing the pre-Cabinet meeting last night, said that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee going by Indian intelligence reports, expressed confidence that the LTTE will never go back to war.

The Premier, briefing the Ministers at length on the outcome of his official visit to India, said that by reference to Sri Lankan intelligence reports, he endorsed that view and added that he had discussions with the Indian Government to enter into economic agreements that will go beyond territorial boundaries and that the economic agreement now in force will be amended and made ready for signature before March next year. He said that the Indian Government having paid attention to the necessity to improve the security aspects of Sri Lanka, agreed to enter into a pact pertaining to defence and training between the two countries. The Defence Secretaries of both countries will move in that direction, the Prime Minister said.

Referring to the media briefing he had with Indian journalists, the Premier said that when a journalist asked him whether the intended Defence Agreement with India is designed to repress the LTTE, his answer was that if the LTTE is not reverting to war, there is no necessity to repress them.

The CEPA widens the ambit of the Free Trade Agreement to go beyond trade in goods to include services, to facilitate greater investment flows between the two countries and to explore new areas of economic co-operation.

An India-Sri Lanka Joint Study Group (JSG) appointed in April, 2003 to make recommendations for the establishment of the CEPA completed its deliberations in October 2003 and presented its recommendations to the two Prime Ministers on October 20, 2003 during the visit of Premier Wickremesinghe to New Delhi.

It concluded that entering into a CEPA would take the two countries to a qualitatively new level of engagement by intensifying and deepening bilateral economic interaction, building on the advantages of close political relations and geographical proximity.

The Prime Ministers congratulated the members of the Group on the speed with which they had prepared a comprehensive report with far-reaching recommendations and directed that negotiations begin immediately with the target of concluding them by the end of March 2004.

India also pledged to forge defence ties with Sri Lanka and said it backed Sri Lanka's efforts to establish a peace mechanism with the LTTE.

"The two Prime Ministers discussed the ongoing cooperation in training and supply of equipment to the Sri Lankan defence forces and agreed that the two sides will commence discussions with a view to conclude a defence cooperation agreement at the earliest," a joint statement said.

"The two Prime Ministers also emphasised the need for concerted opposition to terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

They agreed that there can be no justification for terrorism, be it political, religious or ideological," the statement said. "India supports the process of seeking a negotiated settlement acceptable to all sections of Sri Lankan society within the framework of a united Sri Lanka and consistent with democracy, pluralism and respect for individual rights," the statement added. "India will maintain an abiding interest in the security of Sri Lanka and remains committed to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. India would welcome a resolution of the current impasse in the peace process and an early resumption of negotiations," the foreign ministry said.

Any interim arrangement should be an integral part of the final settlement and should be in the framework of the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, it added. Foreign Minister, Tyronne Fernando, told The Hindu that the two countries had agreed "in principle" to a defence cooperation agreement.

This would include training of Sri Lankan security personnel by India and consultations between the defence chiefs of the two counties.

Asked if the agreement would include the training of Sri Lankan military personnel by India in Sri Lanka, he said the details would have to be worked out.

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