By Xinhua
Colombo : The governments of India and Sri Lanka have set up a joint committee on defence related issues, Sri Lankan president’s office said Thursday in a statement.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Rajapakse’s two brothers are members of the Sri Lankan side while India will be represented by secretaries in the defence and external affairs ministries and the national security advisor.
Weeratunga, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the defense secretary and Basil Rajapakse, the senior advisor to President Rajapakse, visited New Delhi early this week for talks with Indian leaders on Sri Lanka’s current situation.
Development of the Eastern Province and the government’s planned military operations in the north against Tamil Tiger rebels were issues discussed, Sri Lankan officials said.
The LTTE has been fighting the government since the mid-1980s to establish a separate homeland for the minority Tamils in the north and east.