Following the deliberations of the Sri Lankan Cabinet appointed Inter Ministerial Committee on Sethusamudram convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a multi-sectoral technical level delegation was constituted to undertake discussions on the proposed Sethusamudram Project, to connect Gulf of Mannar to Bay of Bengal through the Palk Bay and Palk Strait. Accordingly, an intial round of discussions was held with the Indian authorities, in January, this year, in New Delhi by a delegation led by Chairman, NARA Kapila Perera.