No sufficient staff for office handling FTAs: Harsha

13 May 2024 10:46 am Views - 976

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana 

Parliament, May 13 (Daily Mirror)- The new 'Office of International Trade' (OIT) which has been established at the President's office  has informed the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) that it has no sufficient staff members, COPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva told Parliament today. 

The chief negotiator of the OIT A.G. Weerasinghe has informed COPF that it is not possible to carry out feasibility studies on pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with China and Thailand. 

"A decision should me made whether the Department of Commerce should be continued or closed down. It will be possible to transfer officers of the Department of Commerce to the OIT if a decision is made to close down the Commerce Department," he said.