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."

Defence cooperation

Najib said 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 Sept 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 Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Works Minister Samy Vellu and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding.

On Wednesday he is due to meet with leading Malaysian investors and businessmen and attend a business luncheon hosted by the Sri Lankan High Commission together with the Asian Strategic Leadership Institute.

Limited autonomy

The LTTE and the Colombo government have been observing a ceasefire since February last year, but the Tigers withdrew from talks on April 21 after accusing the government of reneging on promises made at six rounds of talks since September last year.

The Tigers have said the government must agree to the setting up of an interim administration for the northern and eastern regions before they agree to resume peace negotiations.

The Tigers had a meeting in Paris last month to prepare a response to the government's July 17 offer of limited autonomy ahead of a final settlement to a conflict which has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972. - AFP