Sri Lanka and India to conclude ETCA technical talks by March

Sri Lanka and India have agreed to conclude the technical level discussions of the Economic and Technology Co-operative Agreement (ETCA) by March, next year, Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana said.
Sri Lanka and India have held 12 rounds of ETCA negotiations up to now and the 13th round will be held in India from January 08 to 10, 2024.
Gunawardana said the Cabinet of Ministers reviewed the information submitted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe this week, regarding the outcomes of the 12 rounds of discussions, which were held from October 30 to November 01, 2023. After a five-year pause, India and Sri Lanka resumed the discussions on the ETCA in November 2023.

After 11 rounds of negotiations conducted between 2016 and 2018, the talks between the two countries came to a halt amid heavy opposition from Sri Lankan trade unions and professional groups. 
The negotiations are carried out by Sri Lanka’s International Trade Office, established under the Finance Ministry.