Again, to take Sri Lanka as an example, you are aware that we have bilateral relations both with India and Pakistan. We concluded a Free Trade Agreement with India in 1998 and it came into force in the year 2000. Today, the volume of trade between India and Sri Lanka has growth by 400%, compare to what it was in the year 2000 when the agreement came into force. Similarly we entered into a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan in the year 2005. I had a very useful discussion with the previous Minister of Trade of the Government of Pakistan, who, at my request, made some major concessions as regards Sri Lanka’s beteI exports into Pakistan. He was Humayun Akhtar Khan - the Former Minister of Trade and Commerce of Pakistan. Immediately, as I made this request to him, he instructed his officials to accede to it. That has led to many beneficial consequences in three districts of Sri Lanka - Gampaha, Kurunegala and Kegalle - districts where betel production is the mainstay of the agricultural economy.

We have done well out of these Free Trade Agreements, on the whole. Of course there are problems, we won’t deny that. One of the characteristics of these bilateral agreements is their asymmetrical character. Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, visited this country in November last year to attend the SAARC summit. I was present at his meeting with the President of Sri Lanka. He said "I want Sri Lanka to proceed at a pace at which Sri Lanka is comfortable. There is no coercion, direct or indirect. It is not my view that there must be uniformity, symmetry or equality."

Of course, that is the right approach. It is because the two countries are physically and in every other way unequal. India has a population 50 times that of Sri Lanka and it has an economy 30 times that of Sri Lanka. So it will be quite fanciful and unrealistic to expect anything approximating to uniformity or symmetry. The whole structure of the Free Trade Agreement is manifestly and demonstrably asymmetrical. India has a short period to comply. We have a much longer period. The negative lists are not comparable at all. That is an explicit recognition of the inherent inequality of the two economies. And that has helped a great deal.

Now there have been discussions on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA. India has concluded a similar agreement with Singapore. I want to stress this to you. The view of the Government of Sri Lanka is that there is a logical progression from commodities to services. Services are becoming increasingly important in this part of the world. The services sector is the most rapidly growing segment of the Sri Lankan economy. Banking, Insurance, Information Technology and soon. But, any movement towards that should be with the fullest support of the private sector. And that support must emerge spontaneously. It cannot take the form of an imposition by the Government of Sri Lanka.

At the moment, there are some reservations from a significant part of the Sri Lankan private sector. The Government of Sri Lanka has had detailed discussions with the representatives of the Chambers - the three Chambers, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the National Chamber and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and also with leading entrepreneurs and industrialists.

If you analyze their reservations and the motivations underpinning their reservations, it has to do with non-tariff barriers. Business people always complain that although decisions are made relatively smoothly at the political level, when it comes to implementation, the devil is in the detail, and there is inordinate delay and consequent frustration as a result of some significant impediments in the field of nontariff barriers. That is a problem that we have to address in order to establish confidence among the private sector. That I would describe as a sine qua non for the movement to liberalization of services.

We have indicated that we would like the private sector to be fully informed at every stage, as full participants at the discussion without any restraint. And they must feet that it is good for them, that they want it, welcome it, and that it can work in practice. There is a debate in this country, and the Government of Sri Lanka will work closely with the private sector in dealing with these issues.

These are some thoughts that I wanted to share with you on this occasion. I wish to express my pleasure that Sri Lanka has been chosen as the venue for this meeting. The publication that you are unveiling on this occasion - I just glanced at it - promises to be a very useful addition to the literature on the subject. You are having these deliberations at a time when the matters you focus upon re live issues in our country. They are engaging the attention, not only of specialists or the leaders of industry. The general public is also significantly engaged in the ongoing dialogue. Against this backdrop I think you have chosen the right time for this discussion here.

I welcome all the delegates who are visiting our shores. I hope you will have some time outside your discussions to enjoy the scenic beauty of our country, the warmth and hospitality of our people, the vibrancy of our culture and that you will develop an affection for this country that will encourage you to come over and over again.