The Prime Minister is expected to table the final report at the next Cabinet meeting. The committee was appointed with effect from 1 January, based on a Cabinet decision taken on 18 December last year, to conduct a comprehensive study on the agreement and make necessary recommendations to the Government. The Government had decided to suspend the implementation of the previous Government’s decision on signing the agreement until the committee reached its conclusions. The committee comprises former Transport Ministry Secretary D.S. Jayaweera, Nihal Jayawardena PC, and civil activist Nalaka Jayaweera. The four-member committee had handed over its preliminary report to the President in February. Prime Minister Rajapaksa had tabled the interim report of the committee to the Cabinet. The Cabinet had decided not to sign the MCC agreement in its present form based on the recommendations of the committee. The committee of experts, in its interim report, concluded that the MCC agreement contains clauses that are not in agreement with the Constitution of Sri Lanka and are detrimental to the sovereignty of the country. The Government said it decided not to sign the agreement, taking into consideration several facts concerning the MCC deal such as its obscure manner, inclusion of clauses that are against the country’s Constitution and are detrimental to its sovereignty, inclusion of clauses that can adversely affect national security and national, economic, social, and cultural affairs, and concerns that sprung up regarding the island nation’s sovereignty, independence, and national security.