Katunayake attack annoys India

Manjula Fernando reporting from New Delhi

Sri Lanka's North East conflict and the threat posed by LTTE's air capabilities are expected to figure prominently in the 14th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit which will be inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at "Vigyan Bhavan" on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters last week in Delhi, Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said "We have made it clear to everyone that we are very concerned at the escalated violence in Sri Lanka and the air strike is one aspect of it,". The statement marked India's first official reaction to the LTTE's aerial attack on the Katunayake airbase.

Menon said the escalation of violence in Sri Lanka will figure prominently at the SAARC sessions.

Newspapers here reported, India which hosts the landmark sessions this year, is expected to call for collective action against terrorism in the region and push for greater economic cooperation among its partners at the land mark sessions of the regional grouping which will see the inclusion of Afghanistan as its newest member.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will lead the Sri Lankan delegation to Delhi for the main sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama will be here to attend the two day SAARC Foreign Minister's, meeting which will be inaugurated today.

On Sri Lanka's point of view the Foreign Minister will push for speedy implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Sri Lanka for which the work is already progressing while he will call upon all its members for integrated action in fighting terrorism in all its manifestations.

In the SAARC general agenda there will be discussions towards setting-up of a South Asian University. SAARC leaders will discuss the modalities of the project to make the proposed university the best in the world that attract best students and best faculty'. An inter-governmental agreement is to be signed first to form the university, before the details of this institute are worked out, newspapers quoting the Foreign Secretary said.

Other important intra-regional projects that will be discussed include SAARC Development Fund, Regional Telemedicine Network and Regional Food Bank.

The Summit will also see the presence of the US, the European Union, China, Japan and South Korea as observers for the first time in its history. China, Japan and South Korea will be represented by their foreign ministers. The US will be represented by Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama arrived in New Delhi last night to attend the SAARC Foreign Ministers' meeting which will begin today ahead of the SAARC summit. He was received by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The Minister will hold bi-lateral talks with Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee this evening.