• About   |
  • Write For Us   |
  • Contact Us   |
  • हिंदी
Saturday, January 28, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
The Second Angle
Advertise
  • Infotainment
    • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
      • Home & Decoration
  • People
    • Inspiring
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Finance
  • Healthcare
  • Technology
  • World
The Second Angle
  • Infotainment
  • Entertainment
  • People
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Finance
  • Healthcare
  • Technology
  • World
Advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT
Home World News

Sri Lanka to resume negotiations on stalled trade agreement with India

TSA Desk by TSA Desk
December 8, 2022
in World News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on WhatsApp
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT

RelatedPosts

Donald Trump kicks off 2024 US elections bid with events in early voting states

Iran executes more than 50 people so far this year: Human rights group


Chief Negotiator of FTAs at the International Trade Office K.J. Weerasinghe. File

Chief Negotiator of FTAs at the International Trade Office K.J. Weerasinghe. File

 Sri Lanka will soon resume talks with India on the stalled Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), authorities said, as Colombo looks to trade pacts and foreign direct investments to rebuild its crisis-hit economy.  

“We hope to commence negotiations on the ETCA later this month,” said K.J. Weerasinghe, Chief Negotiator of FTAs at the International Trade Office, recently set up under the Presidential Secretariat. “We had finished 11 rounds of bilateral talks the last time [between 2016 and 2019] with the aim of broadening and deepening the [ISFTA] that is in force since India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement,” said the senior official, who was formerly Director General of the Department of Commerce, following several diplomatic stints focusing on Sri Lanka’s international trade interests.

However, the Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government that was in power at the time could not complete negotiations. The ETCA faced considerable resistance from sections within Sri Lanka, mainly from nationalist groups and trade unions who saw the pact as giving India an unfair advantage. The ETCA itself followed decade-long, but futile, negotiations on yet another pact — the “Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)”.   

Sri Lanka’s recent emphasis on FTAs and FDIs is part of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s strategy for economic recovery in the island nation, reeling under the impact of its worst economic crash. The country’s economy contracted by an estimated 9.2 % this year and is estimated to contract by a further 4.2 % in 2023, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, the government is talking to its creditors to restructure its foreign debt and qualify for IMF support early next year.  

Greater integration

In his Budget speech last month Mr. Wickremesinghe, who is also the Finance Minister, underscored the need for Sri Lanka to have greater access to the world market. “Towards this end, Sri Lanka has resumed efforts to integrate with key markets such as India and China. Sri Lanka will also resume trade negotiations with Thailand, which along with the FTA with Singapore, sets the steppingstone for Sri Lanka to engage in dynamic regional trading arrangements such as Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),” he told Parliament. The six-time Prime Minister was elected President through an urgent parliamentary vote in July at the height of Sri Lanka’s crisis. He replaced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country after being ousted by a popular people’s uprising.      

In line with Mr. Wickremesinghe’s vision, the International Trade Office is focussing on greater engagement in the neighbourhood, a “look east” policy, for possible integration with RCEP down the line, Mr. Weerasinghe told The Hindu in an interview at his office facing the Presidential palace that anti-government protesters stormed in July in a culmination of mass agitations.

India and China are the top two sources of import for Sri Lanka. In 2021, Sri Lanka’s imports from India totalled $ 4.74 billion, while the island nation exported about $980 million worth of good to India.

In the coming talks with India, Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate an explicit acknowledgment of the “asymmetry” in trade with India [in the proposed ETCA]; work together to address some pending concerns over the implementation of the existing ISFTA and negotiate for an easing of quotas on Sri Lankan exports to India. “We must also take a fresh look at services. Rather than taking rigid, inflexible positions, we must see how to make this [pact] a win-win agreement for both countries,” Mr. Weerasinghe said.


ShareSendTweet
TSA Desk

TSA Desk

Related Posts

World News

Donald Trump kicks off 2024 US elections bid with events in early voting states

Former President Donald Trump is set to kick off his 2024 White House bid on January 28 with visits to...

Read more
World News

Iran executes more than 50 people so far this year: Human rights group

Protesters chant slogans during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini who was detained by the morality police, in...

Read more
World News

Gunman kills many near Jerusalem synagogue

Israeli forces stand guard near the scene of a shooting attack on January 27, 2023 in Neve Yaacov which lies...

Read more
World News

Data | From 5% to 15%, China’s share in India’s imports tripled in last two decades

Depending on China: In recent years India’s exports to China have decreased while imports from China have increased significantly In...

Read more
World News

Nepal Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane to lose seat in Parliament as Supreme Court rules he is not a citizen

Nepal Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane. | Photo Credit: Reuters The Supreme Court of Nepal on January 27, 2023 delivered a...

Read more
World News

Holocaust Remembrance Day | Volodymyr Zelenskyy says ‘indifference kills along with hatred’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. File | Photo Credit: Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27,...

Read more
Load More
Next Post

New York Times journalists, other workers on 24-hour strike

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook Twitter Instagram Telegram

About

The Second Angle

A platform providing diverse views on various issues, providing an in-depth understanding of important developments happening around us. It offers you true journalism amidst the cacophony. Discover the latest news, opinions, analysis and a lot more here.

Important Links

  • About
  • Career
  • Write for us | The Second Angle
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • हिंदी

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

© 2017-22. The Second Angle. All Rights Reserved. Developed and Maintenance by SquareBase.io

No Result
View All Result
  • Infotainment
    • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
      • Home & Decoration
  • People
    • Inspiring
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Finance
  • Healthcare
  • Technology
  • World
  • Login
  • Sign Up

© 2017-22. The Second Angle. All Rights Reserved. Developed and Maintenance by SquareBase.io

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Go to mobile version