Colombo (PTI): In an olive branch to Tamils, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited over ground ethnic groups to participate in the political process to find a lasting solution to the decades old conflict.

Rajapaksa has invited the United National Party and the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance to participate in the political process "to find a lasting solution to the (ethnic) conflict", Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Parliament.

Referring to the defunct Ceasefire Agreement with the LTTE, the minister said that even as the government took the bold decision, he had manifested in the Cabinet that there was a need to accelerate the process towards a political solution. Accordingly, the interim proposals were submitted in January by the Chairman of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) Prof. Tissa Vitarana, who is also the science and technology minister.

The recommendations were accepted by President for immediate implementation, he said. "The results of this decision have been manifested in the restoration of democracy and civil administration in the Eastern Province. Today, the administration of the Eastern Province is in the hands of the people, headed by a Chief Minister, from the Tamil community who was a child soldier (Pillayan)," the minister said.

The Minister reiterated the government position that the engagement of the military is to counter terrorism. Sri Lankan President has also repeatedly asserted to the international community that political issues can only be solved through political measures, Bogollagama said.

He said the government's mandate is to fully implement the devolution of power to the provinces under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Turning to ties with India, Bogollagama said that Colombo has enjoyed close relationship with New Delhi and it has been further strengthened by the frequent exchange of visits by the leaders of the two countries.

"Sri Lanka maintains the closest relationship with her neighbour, India, which has been cemented by the frequent high level political interaction between the two countries, including President Rajapaksa's meetings with the Indian leaders, as well as his own dialogue with the Indian leadership," he said.

The Minister also told Parliament on Tuesday that the Foreign Ministry has been playing a role in gaining the support and confidence of the international community in combating terrorism in the country.

Bogollagama said Sri Lanka has enhanced its bilateral relations with countries in the neighbourhood, including India and China, as well as forged new relationships in regional and multilateral fora such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Economic and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).

Bogollagama told Parliament that Sri Lanka's active engagement internationally has yielded positive results in terms of enhanced development assistance, such as the massive infrastructure development aid from China and a 25 per cent increase in overseas development assistance from Japan, an official statement said.