Kuala Lumpur, Sept 09: Visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is optimistic that the peace process in his country will be sustained, a Malaysian minister said today. "The ceasefire with LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is still ongoing and upheld by both sides," Defence Minister Najib Razak said after talks here with Wickremesinghe. "There has been no conflict for 18 months. As such Wickremesinghe is more and more optimistic that this situation will be sustained. "He hopes this will help boost ties between Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Now that there has been peace for the past 18 months, they are opening Sri Lanka to the outside world to invest in it."
Najib said that the two men also discussed defence cooperation, with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister expressing interest in learning more about the modernisation of the Malaysian armed forces.
This will be discussed further when the Sri Lankan Defence Minister visits Malaysia in conjunction with the Lankawi international maritime and air show which begins on September 30, he said.
Najib was speaking to reporters after paying a courtesy call on Wickremesinghe soon after the Sri Lankan leader arrived here for a two-day visit.

Wickremesinghe was later scheduled to meet Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, works minister Samy Vellu and environment minister Law Hieng Ding.

Bureau Report