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Thursday, 7 March 2019 01:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama yesterday confirmed that all trade agreements Sri Lanka is working on were making headway, despite unfair criticism.
“There is no complication in any of the trade agreements, they are all progressing steadily,” the Minister said, speaking at a post-Budget discussion organised by E&Y in Colombo yesterday.
Despite the negative criticism, particularly on the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) which came into effect from 1 May 2018, the Minister claimed that none of the groups that are against it are pointing out particular anomalies in the agreement. Samarawickrama said two big ticket investments on an oil refinery and a steel plant are one of the first positive outcomes of the SLSFTA.
“There are two large investments from two Singapore companies - they are putting up an oil refinery worth over $4 billion in Trincomalee, and a steel manufacturing plant worth $1 billion in Hambantota. The FTA with a country like Singapore will only show the world we are ready for business. We are not expecting to export a lot to Singapore, but it is more for investments,” the Minister added.
With regards to the progress of the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India, Samarawickrama was held back due to their General Election coming up in the next month or two.
“Negotiations are going on ETCA and we have covered a lot of areas during the previous negotiation rounds,” he stressed.
Noting that there is a lot of interest from trade chambers to expedite the FTA with China, the Minister said that he is hoping to visit China in mid-April and to recommence the negotiation process.
At the same time, he said that the Government was looking at FTAs with Thailand and Bangladesh to bolster Sri Lanka’s exports and FDIs.
