'Positive' progress on trade pact with India

Talks for a free trade agreement with India have been given a swift kick along after a meeting between Prime Minister John Key and India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad.

Mr Key described it as one of the most positive bilateral meetings he has had in his 12 months as Prime Minister.

There had already been an agreement to have talks and Mr Key said officials have "all but completed their work".

Dr Singh had been keen to progress the trade agreement and said both sides should instruct officials to get the work done so formal negotiations could begin.

"We had an agreement to proceed," Mr Key said, adding that Dr Singh made special mention of the imprint Sir Edmund Hillary had left on the people of India and he invited Mr Key to visit India.

"It was a very sincere attempt to build a strong relationship."

Mr Key also met Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama yesterday.

Mr Bogollagama told Mr Key 280,000 people had been left displaced after the end of the civil war but now there were only 130,000.

Boats of asylum seekers have been intercepted recently and Mr Key said while it was more an issue for Australia and Indonesia, the fact the boats were getting bigger presented a risk to New Zealand.

Sri Lanka was supposed to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2011 but relinquished it because of security concerns. It is expected that Perth will host the next one and Sri Lanka in 2013.