More areas included in Indo-Lanka trade pact

The scope of the Indo-Sri Lankan trade agreement is expected to be expanded soon by bringing more areas, including the services sector under its ambit, Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner to India Sumith Nakandala said on Tuesday.

Talks were progressing to expand the trade pact which was now confined to merchandise. The idea was to include services sector, including banking and education, under its purview by changing the pact into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, Nakandala told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Of late, there had been a significant increase in the flow of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka, with the island nation steeply enhancing the air connectivity between the two countries, he said.

The visit of Sri Lankans to India was also on the rise, especially to the Buddhist and the Hindu pilgrim centres, including Sabarimala in Kerala, he said.

On political and ethnic strife in Sri Lanka, he said the government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse was committed to bringing about a durable solution to the problem through negotiated settlement. Political parties in Southern provinces would also be taken into confidence in the peace process, he added.

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