Attorney General clears proposal to sign SL-Thailand FTA

Friday, 26 January 2024 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Attorney General has cleared the proposal to sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The agreement of the Foreign Affairs Ministry has also been received for the same.

The approval of the FTA and follow-up steps came up for discussion at the Cabinet of Ministers meeting on Wednesday.

After nine rounds of discussions between the two sides, a complete 14-chapter draft FTA was prepared, including the preamble and annexes, to improve trade and investment, compliance with local laws and regulations and facilitate knowledge sharing.

Earlier this month, Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena confirmed that Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will formally sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during his scheduled visit to Sri Lanka next month.

Development of supply capacity, attracting export-oriented foreign direct investment and expanding international market access for Sri Lankan goods and services have been identified as strategies that are essential to Sri Lanka’s economic growth.

On 16 January 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers approved to start off negotiations to enter into a free trade agreement with Thailand, which is one of the largest economies and the largest foreign investor in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The National Trade Negotiations Committee has also exchanged views with all relevant local stakeholders during the negotiation process.

Negotiations for the FTA between Sri Lanka and Thailand resumed in November, after being put on hold for four years, consequent to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing restructuring of Sri Lanka’s State-owned enterprises.

During the first 10 months of 2023, the bilateral trade value between Thailand and Sri Lanka was $ 320.37 million. Thailand exported goods worth $ 213.49 million, while it imported goods worth $ 106.88 million from Sri Lanka.