SriLanka, March 22 -- The Government has completed drafting new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to regulate foreign research vessels and Naval ships entering its waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.

The Minister said that the draft has been sent to the Legal Draftsman's Department and the Attorney General's Department for legal review before being submitted to the Cabinet for approval. He said an inter-ministerial committee prepared the SOPs after about a year of discussions. The committee included representatives from the Navy, Air Force, Airport and Aviation authorities, ports, the police, intelligence agencies, the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau and several other institutions. Minister Herath said the committee also ...