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Lanka all for trade pact with India

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga today said that her country has no reservation about signing a free trade treaty with India that could give a major boost to economic and trade ties between the two nations.

Kumaratunga, who arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a three-day state visit, said Sri Lanka has no objection to trade agreement, which requires further discussion at the highest level before it is formalised. There is a broad consensus on this issue between the two nations.

The Sri Lankan president was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. President K R Narayanan, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his senior Cabinet colleagues were there to receive her.

The fast-track bilateral trade pact is expected to help diversify two-way trade between the two nations.

During her visit, the Sri Lankan president will hold wide-ranging discussions with the prime minister and other leaders on various bilateral matters. The problem in the northern provinces of the island nation will also come up for discussion. But the Indian government did not change its stance that it was for Sri Lanka to resolve the issue.

The problems faced by the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation will also figure in discussions with Indian leaders.

Kumaratunga will also meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister I K Gujral.

UNI

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