COLOMBO: Senior officials of India and Sri Lanka will meet this month in Sri Lanka to discuss broadening of the existing free trade agreement (FTA) by including services and investments, according to a PTI report.
The officials are expected to meet by the middle of this month in Colombo, an official said. The India – Sri Lanka FTA implemented in March 2000 covers only goods.
In October, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had said that the FTA will be broadened further beyond goods to cover services, investments and technology cooperation.
Under the current FTA the trade balance favors India which is Sri Lanka’s major trading partner in South Asia. India has a healthy trade surplus in goods with Sri Lanka due to the existing agreement. In 2015-16 India exported goods worth USD 5.30 billion and its imports from Sri Lanka were worth only USD 0.75 billion.
In 2003, both sides set up a joint study group to widen the ambit of the FTA. Based on its recommendations, they started negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ETCA) in February 2005.
The negotiations however have not progressed much as Sri Lanka’s services sector has voiced apprehensions over the perceived advantages of the pact for India.
