Former Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris today said that the decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union should not be made an excuse for signing the ETCA with India.

The government maintained that with the leaving of the UK from the EU, separate agreements have to be reached with that country.

Since the UK is a major trading partner of Sri Lanka, this affects the local economy negatively, the government has argued.

However, Peiris argued that the government should be mindful of the conditions of the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement to be signed with India.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently said that ETCA will be signed within this year.