The Sri Lankan Government has confirmed that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will not be on agenda during the talks between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
According to Lanka Page, Sri Lankan Minister of Development Strategy and International Trade Malik Samarawickrema said that there will be no talks or agreement on the controversial trade agreement with India.
Samarawickrema said that "some defeated political elements" were attempting to discredit the Prime Minister's visit in order to revive their "defamed political image" by issuing groundless statements regarding the CEPA.
He also said that these elements signed many agreements with other nations not for the country but for their personal gains.
The CEPA has been a key concern among many factions in civil society, including the business entrepreneurs, industrialists and economists.
