Sri Lanka will not sign an economic pact with India until fears of local industrialists and professionals which suddenly cropped up despite four years of discussions are allayed, the island’s international trade minister said.

"We certainly do not want to sign an agreement by force," international trade minister G L Pieris told reporters.

"We would like to discuss this further and reach mutual consensus before signing it."

The Indo Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was widely expected to be signed when Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh visits the island next month for a regional summit.

The deal is expected to open services allowing professionals of some sectors to work in each other’s countries, building on trade liberalization of an earlier deal.

The entire South Asian region has suffered from decades of protection, with industrialists having cosy markets where expensive and sometimes low quality products are forced on captive, mostly poor consumers, underlying the need for liberalization.

Pieris said extensive discussions had been held with trade chambers and professional bodies during the last four years but new objections had now come up.

"We are a democratic government and we will discuss this and allay their fears," Pieris said.

"But the CEPA covers many areas. If there are areas which are not in contention we can proceed with them."

On the same day, Wimal Weerawansa, a Marxist-nationalist lawmaker, challenged the government to release the draft CEPA document.

"Why are they not revealing it?" Weerawansa asked. "Even the Cease Fire Agreement was signed in this manner."

He was referring to a ceasefire deal a previous government signed with Tamil Tiger guerillas which the present government abrogated earlier this year, under pressure from the nationalists.

Weerawansa recently broke away from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP, a party which advocated policies of high government expenditure and subsidizing imported commodities like fuel and fertilizer, and wholesale government recruitment, which Sri Lanka has faithfully followed from 2004.

The policies have landed the country in the highest inflation in its history this year of 29.9 percent and the island is now saddled with a bloated state sector that is eating up 55 percent of tax revenues on salaries and pensions alone.