Colombo, Jul 19 (IANS): Sri Lanka and Singapore are to finalise a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this year, Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake said on Tuesday.

Karunanayake said that during his discussions with visiting Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, particular attention was paid to ways and means of further strengthening bilateral trade and investment.

The proposed Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA is expected to be finalised during the later part of 2017, Xinhua reported.

Speaking to reporters, the Sri Lankan foreign minister said that Sri Lanka and Singapore enjoy strong and robust bilateral relations that have been built on mutual understanding and respect as well as through people-to-people contacts.

He said the official visit by the prime minister of Sri Lanka to Singapore last July has opened a new chapter in further enhancing bilateral relations.

"I expressed my deep appreciation for the training opportunities offered by Singapore to Sri Lankan public sector officials. We discussed ways of further strengthening training and educational collaboration between two countries," Karunanayake added.

Balakrishnan has met Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and will also meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.