Sri Lanka faces protest against signing CEPA with India

Hundreds of people participated in a protest in Sri Lanka on Monday urging the new government to refrain from signing a trade agreement with India.

The protest, organized by the National Freedom Front (NFF), a political party led by former Minister Wimal Weerwansa, called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe not to sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India.

The protestors, who led a demonstration outside the Fort Railway Station in capital Colombo, said that the agreement would create high rates of unemployment in the island nation and would put the country's economy at risk.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe is currently on a three day official visit to New Delhi where he will hold discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee. Indian cabinet ministers and political leaders are also among those who are expected to call on the Sri Lankan Prime Minister.

However, the country's new Minister for Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickreme, who is accompanying the Prime Minister on his Indian tour, in a statement on Sunday said that Sri Lanka will not be discussing the CEPA agreement with India during the trip and rejected reports that the government would be signing the agreement with the Indian government.

"The government would never permit any international agreement for the benefit of the politicians," Samarawickrama said.

The CEPA negotiation between India and Sri Lanka was initiated in 2005 and some of its objectives comprises of reaching an agreement in goods, services and trade between the two countries, right to employment despite territorial differences, investment, aviation and customs services. Enditem