Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Monday, 4 September 2023 01:17 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka and Thailand aim to sign the bilateral Free Trade Agreement on 3 February 2024 to coincide with the Independence day celebrations of the former on 4 February.
The outcome follows the successful conclusion of the 6th Round of Sri Lanka-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (SLTFTA) Negotiations from 21-23 August in Bangkok, Thailand.
The negotiations were co-chaired by Department of Trade Negotiations Director General and the Thailand’s Chief Negotiator Auramon Supthaweethum and Sri Lanka’s Chief Negotiator K. J. Weerasinghe.
During negotiations, meetings of seven working groups were held, namely, trade in goods, trade in services, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, investment and legal and institutional issues and carried out successful discussions.
The delegation of Sri Lanka comprised of officials from the Embassy and Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Thailand, Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industries, Department of Commerce, Department of Trade and Investment Policies, Attorney General’s Department, Sri Lanka Customs, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Standards Institution.
The delegation of Thailand consisted of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Trade Negotiations, Department of Foreign Trade, Thai Customs Department, Office of Agricultural Economics, Office of Industrial Economics, Office of the Board of Investment and Office of the Council of State.
The Department of Trade Negotiations Director General and the Thailand’s Chief Negotiator Auramon Supthaweethum welcomed the delegation of Sri Lanka to the 06th Round of SLTFTA. “Negotiations and stated that both countries have agreed to conclude the SLTFTA Negotiations by the end of 2023 with the aim of signing on 3 February 2024 to coincide with the Independence day celebrations of Sri Lanka,” a statement from Foreign Ministry said.
Sri Lanka’s Chief Negotiator K. J. Weerasinghe expressed his appreciation to Thailand for hosting the 06th Round of SLTFTA Negotiations. He also expressed his gratitude in agreeing to conclude the SLTFTA Negotiations by the end of 2023 with the aim of signing on 3 February 2024. He highlighted the importance of Thai investments to Sri Lanka and requested the Thai side to consider the concept paper submitted by the Sri Lanka side on the establishment of a special investment zone exclusively for Thai investors.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka and UNESCAP Permanent Representative C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne expressed sincere appreciation to the Department of Trade Negotiations of Thailand, for the excellent arrangements made for the 06th Round of SLTFTA Negotiations. She stated that the vision of the Government of Sri Lanka is to integrate into the global economy, in this context, to expand economic and trade relations to South Asia and then to the East and to join Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and highlighted that being placed in strategic locations, Thailand serves as a gateway for Sri Lanka to the ASEAN region and Sri Lanka as a gateway to large markets of South Asia, Middle East and Africa.
