The Philippine government and Maoist-led rebels signed an indefinite ceasefire agreement on Friday as part of efforts to end a conflict that has lasted almost five decades and killed at least 40,000 people.
The agreement extends a truce in place since last weekend for the Oslo meeting that began on Monday and is the first formal negotiating session over the conflict since 2011.
"There is a clear plan to accelerate the peace negotiations," Jose Maria Sison, the exiled founder of the Communist Party who lives in the Netherlands, told Reuters.
He said the ceasefire agreement included a timetable for talks about political, economic and constitutional reforms.
