ISLAMABAD: The new Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Rohita Bogollagama, certified his Government's Free Trade Agreement with India as a "vibrant" success and expressed the hope that improved relations between the two big SAARC neighbours would make the regional free trade agreement similarly effective.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, at a joint press conference with his Sri Lankan counterpart, who is here on an official visit, said India and Pakistan have "different interpretations" about the implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement that would be discussed at the SAARC Commerce Ministers meeting in Kathmandu later this month.

On his first visit to Pakistan after recently taking charge of the Foreign Affairs portfolio, Mr. Bogollagama said bilateral issues needed to be addressed without affecting the progress of the regional group.

Sri Lanka's experience with India on the implementation of the FTA had shown that a "positive and conducive" attitude helped in meeting goals.

"Sri Lanka is today a country that is experiencing a very vibrant FTA with India," he said.

With the improvement of relations between India and Pakistan, the Sri Lankan Minister said there was hope for "a greater understanding of the need for regional co-operation to supersede bilateral issues" in making the SAARC and the SAFTA a success.

Mr. Bogollagama said the stand by the SAARC against terrorism had to be encouraged both "at the multilateral and bilateral level" and that the scourge must not be allowed to perpetuate, grow or spread.

The Sri Lankan Government was engaged in negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has a terrorist tag, in order to find a political solution to the country's conflict by making the group a stakeholder in the peace process, the Minister said.

Mr. Kasuri said that in the past, relations between Pakistan and India had acted as a "hindrance" to the SAARC's progress. But the sustained India-Pakistan dialogue to discuss Kashmir and other issues for over three years has "helped improving the atmosphere not only between Pakistan and India but hopefully for SAARC", he said.

Mr. Kasuri denied Pakistan had shifted the goalposts on the SAFTA by continuing to trade with India on the basis of a restrictive positive list, and said the "400 per cent increase in bilateral trade" between the two should be seen in a positive light.

``Pakistan wants India to address the issues of tariff and para-tariff barriers that were becoming an obstacle in bilateral trade," Mr. Kasuri said.

Following discussions between the two Foreign Ministers, Pakistan and Sri Lanka agreed to further strengthen cooperation in defence, commerce and trade, tourism, gemmology, according to a statement from the Pakistan Foreign Ministry.

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