Sri Lanka offers Bangladesh ‘greater’ use of Colombo Port
Xinhua: Sri Lanka has offered greater use of the Colombo Port by Bangladesh for the country’s export and import trade, according to the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the offer on Wednesday (30 March) when meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen in Colombo. Momen is currently in Sri Lanka for the 18th day of the Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Co-operation (BIMSTEC) ministerial meeting.
“Sri Lankan President offered greater use of the Colombo Port by Bangladesh for transportation of Bangladeshi trade goods,” Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
President Rajapaksa thanked Bangladesh for continued support in various multilateral fora and both sides agreed to closely work together in the future. The two sides also discussed the possible new areas for co-operation, including food security, ICT, healthcare, and blue economy.
Both sides also agreed to expedite and complete the negotiations and approval process of pending bilateral instruments for greater benefits of the two peoples, according to the ministry.
In this regard, they welcomed the progress made for an early conclusion of the bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) for enhancing and facilitating trade between the two South Asian countries.
Momen also called for enhanced trade and tourism by commercial shipping and cruise shipping lines between Chattogram, Bangladesh’s premier seaport, and the Colombo Port, said the Foreign Ministry.
On Wednesday, Rajapaksa also chaired the virtual fifth BIMSTEC Summit, while urging enhanced co-operation among the BIMSTEC member countries of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as concessions enjoyed by the country have increased the country’s attraction as an emerging business destination in the region. The increasing economic activities in the country have also expanded opportunities in Sri Lanka’s shipping, ports and maritime sectors. There have been increased operations especially at the Colombo and Hambantota Ports result in the opening up of many business/investment opportunities in developing supplementary infrastructure facilities in line with the growing demand. Therefore, with Sri Lanka’s growing maritime industry along with the overall economic development, foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing opportunities in the industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/21042022/Z_3 |