Monday, Oct 20, 2003
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By V.S. Sambandan
Mr. Wickremesinghe, who left for New Delhi in a scheduled commercial flight this evening, is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Monday. He will also hold discussions with the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, and the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, among others. The main agenda for Mr. Wickremesinghe's visit, according to Sri Lankan officials, will be political level talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The CEPA framework, prepared by a Joint Study Group appointed in April 2003, is to be submitted to the two Prime Ministers during the visit. The move towards the CEPA was described by the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, which met in Colombo earlier this week, as one that "would take the two countries to a qualitatively new level of engagement by intensifying and deepening bilateral economic cooperation". The steps towards the CEPA come against the backdrop of the bilateral trade crossing the $ one billion mark under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. In addition to trade cooperation, Sri Lanka has requested Indian assistance for the management, rehabilitation and refurbishment of its railways, including possible financial and material assistance. Colombo has also sought Indian support for a gas or coal power plant. Over the past few years, the Indian economic presence has increased here. Major Indian public and private firms are players in the island's oil, healthcare, finance, insurance and transportation sectors. New Delhi has also extended a $100-million line of credit and has agreed to consider a request from Colombo to diversify the product range covered under the facility.
Peace process
On the peace process, Mr. Wickremesinghe's visit to India is at a time when Colombo is expecting the LTTE's counter-proposals. The Sri Lankan Government has kept New Delhi informed of the peace process. Mr. Sinha told journalists in Colombo recently that a solution to the island's ethnic conflict would have to be "home grown". The outcome "should be left to be determined by the people of Sri Lanka", and should be one that "helps the entire population and does not disturb the comfort level of the various segments of society in Sri Lanka". India, Mr. Sinha said, would "welcome" anything worked out "within this overall approach".
Defence ties
Widening the scope of bilateral defence cooperation, though at a preliminary level, is also likely to figure in the talks. Sri Lanka, which was taken off India's negative list for sale of military equipment this January, has shown interest in Indian assistance for a range of non-offensive military supplies, particularly in transportation. Current, the Indian support for Sri Lankan security forces is in training of personnel, intelligence sharing and supply of life-saving equipment, such as flak jackets. The major Sri Lankan defence requirement is military vehicles such as trucks, jeeps and tyres. Sri Lankan officials said the defence talks could be broad and preliminary. While economic content is to be the main thrust of Mr. Wickremesinghe's visit, defence-related issues could also figure in the talks, officials said.
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