Minister Sajitha Premadasa is in charge of a campaign to raise public awareness on this pact.

This agreement will pave the way for Sri Lankan products to enter the Indian market without any disruption, he told the commencement of a ‘Uda Gammana’ project in Ranminitenna, Hambantota.

At present, Sri Lankan products only have a limited local market of 20 million people, he noted, adding the ETCA would enable those products to attract the Indian market with 1,300 million people.

Only the duplicitous persons not wanting to see a strengthening of Indo-Lanka ties are opposed to it and are spreading falsehoods that it would deny the island its sovereignty and independence, said Premadasa.

Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured at an Asia-Pacific investment policy-making conference recently the ETCA with India would be signed at the end of this year.