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Manjula Fernando reporting from New Delhi

Prime Minister Ranil wickremasinghe arrived in New Delhi last night to attend the India Today Conclave 2003 which will be inaugurated at the Taj Palace Hotel today.

The conclave which will explore the potential of India in relation to its performance in geopolitics and diplomacy, global access for business, market performance and governance, will continue till Sunday.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was received at the airport by the conclave organisers and a senior official of the Indian External Affairs Ministry, accompanied by Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in India Mangala Moonesinghe.

The Prime Minister will deliver the keynote address at tonight's opening session of the conclave titled 'India Tomorrow : Global Giant or Pygmy'.

Diplomats said the event, attended by a select gathering of leaders of government, business analysts and representatives of think tanks from India and around the world, would be a great opportunity for Sri Lanka to market its potential to the world.

Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and former US President Bill Clinton are also scheduled to address the conclave.

Among the other speakers are Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan, Vice Chairman Asia of Goldman Sachs Kenneth Courtis, Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, Hindustan Unilever Chairman Manvinder Singh Banga and Yale University Professor T.N. Sirinivasan.

The Premier was accompanied by Mrs. Maithree Wickremesinghe and Secretary Bradman Weerakoon. He is scheduled to meet Indian Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee on Sunday for bilateral talks. He will also be meeting Opposition Leader Sonia Gandhi.

He will also meet Indian External Affairs Minister Yaswant Sinha, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and former Indian Premier Narasimha Rao.

Minister Milinda Moragoda also arrived in New Delhi to attend the conclave on Wednesday and met General Sathis Nambiar last afternoon.

The discussion between the minister and General Nambiar had revolved round the security situation in Sri Lanka and issues pertaining to his final report on the High Security Zones.

General Nambiar has been consulted by the Government to study and report on the issue of High Security Zones.

Minister Moragoda will sign an Information Technology Agreement with India.

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