February 27, 2003	Thursday	Zul Hijjah 25, 1423

ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: The Sri Lankan Minister for International Trade and Commerce is due on March 11 to finalize the free trade agreement between the two countries.

A senior official in the commerce ministry told Dawn on Wednesday that the Sri Lankan minister, Ravi Kurukanaike has sent a formal request for visiting Islamabad next month to discuss the remaining items to be considered under FTA.

Earlier, he was scheduled to visit Islamabad on February 6 for a couple of days but due to his pre-occupation in domestic affairs he requested for extension in his trip, said the official.

During the trip, the officials three annexures to the agreement would be finalized. Annexure A includes immediate zero duty lists of items, phase out list and no-concession list for Pakistan side. The Annexure B includes immediate zero duty lists of items, phase-out list and no-concession list for Sri Lanka, while the Annexure C includes rules of origin.