The decision to hold the Joint Commission was taken when External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris met his new Indian counterpart Salman Khursheed Friday (02) on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC).

This was the first meeting between the two ministers since Minister Khurshid's appointment as the External Affairs Minister of India.

The ministers used the opportunity to discuss briefly, key issues of importance to the two countries and agreed to hold the Joint Commission early next year, External Affairs Ministry statement said.

The two Ministers have discussed the trade and investment issues and the status of India-funded projects in Sri Lanka. They have also called for an early meeting of the fishermen associations of India and Sri Lanka.

The Joint Commission is a structured mechanism that discusses all areas of bilateral relevance for cooperation between India and Sri Lanka including trade, services and investment, development cooperation, science and technology, and culture and education.

The last meeting of the Joint Commission was held in Colombo in November 2010.

Prof. Peiris was participating in the 12th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IORARC), at Gurgaon, India, on 2nd November 2012.