1 November 2024 07:50 am Views - 38
By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana
Sri Lanka Customs entered into a mutual agreement with its Russian counterpart on Wednesday to counter illegal trading activities and to boost legal trade facilities between the two nations in the future, an official said.
The meeting themed ‘Mutual Assistance Agreement on Customs Matters’ was held in Moscow, and was chaired by heads of the two Customs of the two countries.
Director General of Sri Lanka Customs P. B. Sarath Nonis signed the MoU with Head of the Federal Customs Service of the Russia Federation Valery Pikalyov.
Customs spokesman Additional Director General Seevali Arukgoda said the mutual agreement would enable the two countries to easily access trade facilitation services, boost legal trading affairs as well as crackdown on illegal trading instances.
He said Sri Lanka was one of the chief tea exporters to Russia, and local authorities used to import wheat and many other goods from Russia before the Ukraine war started.
“Sometimes when unlawful items come, it is now easier for us to request details from Russia.
Likewise, Sri Lanka Customs had entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Customs services of six other countries including Australia, India and Maldives,” the official said.
The local Customs delegation that left for Moscow on Saturday was expected to return yesterday.
Pic in provincial P1 folder