New Delhi: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Wednesday in a bid to secure India's increased involvement in Sri Lanka's peace process.
India and Sri Lanka agree that peace talks in strengthening the ceasefire should begin at the earliest.
Both sides discuss cooperation in civil aviation, railways, IT, and energy sectors.
The comprehensive economic partnership agreement between both the countries likely to be signed next year.
Rajapakse arrived in India on Tuesday for a four-day visit, his first foreign trip since taking office after winning the November 17 Presidential election.
Indian officials said that during a series of meetings in New Delhi with Indian leaders, Rajapakse would explore ways to consolidate bilateral ties, particularly in the economic field.
Rajapakse was slated to meet Sonia Gandhi as well as the ministers of commerce and industry, home, shipping, road transport, and highways and planning.
Ahead of his visit, Rajapakse in Colombo said that he would use the trip to seek India's increased participation in the island nation's faltering peace effort with the LTTE.
“They are our closest neighbours and it is very important for me to have them involved in the process. I expect India to play a similar role to that of the four so-called "co-chairs", the US, the European Union, Japan and Norway, “ Rajapakse said.
Rajapakse added that he was also keen to study India's system of devolution as it could be a model for Sri Lanka to grant extensive power to minority Tamils.
A recent escalation of violence has heightened fears that Sri Lanka could be slipping back to war despite a February 2002 truce with the LTTE.
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