Sri Lankan government decides to enter into new trade agreements and renew existing deals
The government of Sri Lanka has reportedly reached a decision to enter into new trade agreements as well as renew existing regional and international deals.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal submitted by Sri Lanka’s Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardana to both review ongoing but incomplete trade agreements as well as to enter into new ones, local media reports stated.
“This process is in accordance with the President’s ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ policies,” Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has said.
Rambukwella has reportedly explained that all regional trade agreements would be reviewed.
“We need to evaluate the positives and negatives of all agreements, including ones we have protested about in the past,” Rambukwella has said in response to a question on several Free Trade Agreements (FTA). These included the Singapore FTA and the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India.
Sri Lanka is also engaged in FTA talks with China, but it was suspended in 2018. However, both sides have reportedly agreed to revive discussions during a high level meeting in Colombo last October.
“Although Sri Lanka too has entered into several such accords, it has been observed that no expected results have been gained from those,” the government had said in a statement.
OSL take:
The many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have helped Sri Lanka’s trade and exports sector. Sri Lanka is currently in the process of finalising several new trade agreements with key international markets. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean a long with the trade agreements have made the island an attractive business destination in the South Asian region. Therefore, reviewing and upgrading the existing trade deals as well as looking at New deals will further boost Sri Lanka’s attractiveness as a business hub. Foreign businesses/investors could also look at setting up base in Sri Lanka to engage with other foreign markets. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore opportunities in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20210217/Z_5 |