Sri Lanka has hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s desire for the all-round development of South Asia, rather than growth that is concentrated merely in India.
Sri Lankan External Minister GL Peiris said that the view of the Indian government, expressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during last week's talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other members of his delegation, is very clear.
“What he (Manmohan Singh) said was that he does not want the Indian economy to grow on its own, in isolation from the rest of South-Asia,” Peiris told reporters here on Sunday.
Stating that such a development would lead to a very "desirable spill-over effect", Peiris said, "He (Singh) wants the whole region to progress together.”
“He said we have a bilateral trade relationship with India. Now, we can build on it. But how exactly we are going to do it, and within what time frame, are matters exclusively for the government of Sri Lanka to decide," he said while elaborating on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership (CEPA) Agreement between the two countries.
Peiris clarified that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had not signed the CEPA during his recent visit to India, contrary to claims from certain quarters here.
Late last month, hundreds of protesters had taken to the streets of Colombo against the proposed CEPA, claiming that it would benefit India at the expense of the domestic industry in Sri Lanka.
The protesters, including doctors and engineers, had sought an assurance from Rajapaksa that he would not sign the CEPA with India during his visit to New Delhi on June 8.
Rajapaksa, during his meeting with the protesters, had, in turn, reassured them that he would not ink any agreement which could have an adverse impact on Sri Lanka.
The CEPA was expected to be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here two years ago for the SAARC summit. However, it was put off at the last moment.
The proposed agreement had been held up due to opposition from the Sri Lankan business community, which feared that the island's domestic industry would be affected by skilled yet cheaper services from India.
During his meeting with the protesters, Rajapaksa had said that any bilateral agreement should equally benefit both the countries involved.
The Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA), which was signed on December 28, 1998, and came into force from March 1, 2000, promoted economic linkages between the two countries through enhanced bilateral trade and investment.
Peiris said, “He (Singh) categorically stated that Sri Lanka must move forward at a pace that Sri Lanka finds comfortable."
Minister Peiris also said that the financial assistance promised by India during Rajapaksa's recent visit was more a manifestation of the existing friendly ties between the two countries than mere "commercial" loans.
