The Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels start peace talks at a Thai naval base tomorrow.
This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides in seven years and is seen as a confidence-building exercise that will lead to several rounds of talks before a final peace can be achieved.
The three-day talks at Sattahip naval base is expected to focus on setting the agenda for future negotiations as well as development and reconstruction.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam have been fighting since 1983 for a separate state for the island's 3.2 million Tamils, claiming discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese majority.
The fighting has killed more than 64,500 and displaced another 1.6 million people. Sri Lanka's Tamils live mainly in the country's north and east.
Both sides signed a Norweigian-brokered ceasefire in February, paving the way for the Thailand talks, which are also being mediated by Norway.