Sri Lanka and India aim for year-end ETCA conclusion
The Morning: The 15th round of negotiations between Sri Lanka and India on the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) is scheduled to be held in October, as both sides target a year-end conclusion for negotiations.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, International Trade Office (ITO) Chief Negotiator K.J. Weerasinghe revealed that the Sri Lankan and Indian delegations had met and successfully concluded the 14th round of negotiations on the proposed ETCA in Colombo from 24-26 July.
He further revealed that while both delegations had been unable to agree on an exact date for the 15th round of negotiations, they intended to hold the 15th round during October.
Commenting on a timeline for the conclusion of the negotiations on the ETCA, he said: “At the moment, I can’t specify how many more rounds of negotiations will be needed. We should be able to conclude in 2-3 rounds. We are planning to end it by the end of the year.”
Commenting further on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Malaysia, Weerasinghe revealed that both delegations had already met by way of a virtual meeting for the purpose of introductions.
However, he revealed that the commencement of the official negotiations in respect of the FTA with Malaysia would be delayed until both sides completed a feasibility study on the FTA.
“We are considering the FTA with Malaysia, but it will take time because they are still undertaking a feasibility study. We are also doing a feasibility study. Once that is done, both sides will agree on a date,” he stated.
He further revealed that the third round of negotiations in respect of the proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Indonesia had been concluded on 15-16 July and that they expected to hold the fourth round of negotiations during September.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka and India enjoy strong bilateral and trade ties that have been further strengthened by an operational free trade agreement (FTA). However, these ties will see a further expansion with the proposed ETCA between the two nations. India is a key development partner of Sri Lanka and there are many Indian businesses already operating in Sri Lanka. The close proximity between the two countries have played a key role in enhancing business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Given the success recorded by Indian businesses operating in Sri Lanka, other Indian businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s expanding economy. Indian businesses could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with Sri Lankan businesses with the aim of local as well as regional expansion. The business opportunities in Sri Lanka would see a further expansion with the country working towards becoming a hub in the South Asian region. With Sri Lanka’s growing attraction as an emerging business destination in the Indian Ocean region, other foreign businesses/investors interested in doing business in Sri Lanka could look at setting up bases in the country to engage with India as well as other countries in the region.