July 26, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15,1423

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ISLAMABAD, July 25: Pakistan and Sri Lanka agreed on Thursday to exchange Pakistan International Airlines and Air Lanka flights and directed their respective airlines to look into the logistic arrangements for that purpose.

The two sides also finally agreed to sign the free trade agreement during the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to Colombo next week though the list of items and annexures to the agreement would be finalized by September this year.

“The talks were very successful and we have cleared all the doubts that we had and now its for the president and the minister for commerce and industries to come to Sri Lanka and sign the agreement”, said Ravi Karunanyakae, the Sri Lankan minister for commerce and consumer affairs.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Pakistani counterpart Abdul Razak Dawood in the parking of Islamabad airport where the civil aviation authority (CAA) was in a state of high alert due to a threat to three PIA aircraft, the Lankan minister said that free trade between the two countries would not affect its relations with India.

When asked as to how many items would come under the FTA, the visiting minister said that these details would be disclosed at the time of signing of the agreement.

Mr Dawood said that the visiting minister had discussed the issue of PIA flights and the two sides agreed to start flights. He said that Pakistan had no objection in starting PIA and Air Lanka flights.