Sri Lanka discusses PTA with Bangladesh on sidelines of BIMSTEC Summit
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister has discussed the progress of the proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, who was in Sri Lanka last month.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris had held discussions with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen, on the sidelines of the fifth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Co-operation (BIMSTEC) Summit held in Colombo under the chairmanship of Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 30 March 2022.
According to reports, among the other matters discussed were co-operation in the field of higher education, synergies in respect of the apparel industry in the two countries, greater connectivity and integration between the ports of Colombo and Chittagong, and collaboration in international trade.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka is in the process of reviewing and expanding the country’s bilateral and trade ties, especially in the South Asian region. Sri Lanka already has functioning free trade agreements (FTAs) with India and Pakistan. Sri Lanka is currently looking at further enhancing trade ties with India while also working on a PTA with Bangladesh. Given Sri Lanka’s ongoing development programme and the positioning of the country as a growing business destination, the increasing trade ties would further boost the country’s business potential. Foreign businesses/investors looking at doing business in the South Asian region could look at setting up base in Sri Lanka to engage with other regional markets.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/21042022/Z_2 |