Sri Lankan Minister says Sri Lanka to sign Costal Shipping Agreement with Bangladesh this month
Sri Lanka’s Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama has announced through the media that the long-delayed Costal Shipping Agreement between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be signed this month.
“The Costal Shipping Agreement between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be signed very soon after receiving Cabinet approval,” the Minister has reportedly said at the official launch of the Trade Facilitation Framework for Multi-Country Consolidation (MCC) with the assistance of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GAFT) together with Women in Logistics and Transport (WiLAT) Sri Lanka and Verité Research in Colombo last week.
According to Samarawickrama, the agreement would be signed upon receiving Cabinet approval shortly.
He has further noted that the signing of the Costal Shipping Agreement would also permit third-country port usage, which allows usage of ports of the East Coast in India under this agreement.
The Daily FT has reported that agreement will be a significant development, particularly for Sri Lanka’s logistics industry as well as for the export sector.
Minister Samarawickrama and a local delegation is to leave for Bangladesh this week on an official visit to finalise the agreement.
OSL take:
The signing of the Coastal Shipping Agreement between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would open up a host of new investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. The agreement would result in the expansion of Sri Lanka’s logistics and exports sector. Therefore, it would also result in the inflow of foreign investments to the island nation. Sri Lanka’s positioning in the Indian Ocean, as well as the many trade concessions and agreements with other countries, have placed Sri Lanka among the top business destinations in the world.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20181010/Z_2 |