First-ever Sri Lanka-Vietnam trade committee established
Friday, 22 August 2014 00:01
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Aim to increase bilateral trade to $ 1 b
Targets FTA between two countries with initial Preferential Trade Agreement in the offing
Industry Ministry to monitor progress
Sri Lanka and Vietnam took a crucial step towards increasing bilateral business yesterday by establishing the first-ever Joint Trade Sub Committee between the two countries that aims to increase volumes to $ 1 billion.
A six-member team led by Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen is currently in Hanoi for the talks to setup this first official trade mechanism, a statement from his Ministry said.
At the third Meeting of the Joint Commission held in Hanoi in July 2012, an ambitious target was set at for the total value of bilateral trade to reach $ 1 billion in the long term. This was in line with a decision taken by the two leaders during the visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Vietnam in October 2011.
“There is huge, unrealised trade potential between two countries we jointly need to exploit. However, there is no mechanism in place between the two countries at the Government level, at present, aimed at strengthening existing bilateral trade and commercial relations. However, I am also confident that both countries would find many business opportunities which may be complementary to each other,” Bathiudeen had told the committee at the start of the discussions.
At present Vietnam ranks as Sri Lanka’s 40th export destination and the 23rd supplier, accounting for 0.43% of Sri Lanka’s total exports and 1.06% of its total imports respectively. The total trade between both countries stood at $ 119.5 million in 2012 and increased to $ 224.4 million in 2013, registering a remarkable growth of 88%.
Since 2011, Petrovietnam Oil Corporation (PVOil) has supplied petroleum products to Sri Lanka. In the field of industry, the two countries have concluded a number of important documents, creating a legal framework for further enhanced cooperation activities, the key document in this being the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two counties on oil and gas cooperation.
The eventual aim of the committee is to establish a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations, Bathiudeen assured, and proposed the setting up of a Preferential Trade Agreement.
“Such a new beginning will open many new opportunities for both countries. I am fully convinced that setting up of a Joint Working Group (JWG) or Joint Trade Sub Committee would lay a concrete foundation to enhance the existing bilateral trade and economic relations new heights. My Ministry will closely monitor the progress,” he noted.
