Sri Lanka ready to resume talks on ETCA with India

• The two countries held 11 rounds of talks
• Trade negotiations to resume with China, Thailand   
• FTA signed with Singapore would be operational on January 1, 2023  

By Kelum Bandara   

Sri Lanka has conveyed its interest to India for the resumption of negotiations on the Economic Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) after a gap of four years for liberalization of bilateral trade in goods and services, an official said. 

 The two countries held 11 rounds of talks on ETCA until it was stalled in 2018. Trade negotiations were not carried out after the change in the political landscape in Sri Lanka after that.

After President Ranil Wickremesinghe took office, he took interest in forging ahead with bilateral free trade agreements.  The president has now reappointed leading expert K. J. Weerasinghe as the chief negotiator of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Weerasinghe told Daily Mirror that the free trade agreement signed with Singapore would be operationalized on January 1, 2023. 

Alongside, he said the government will resume talks on similar agreements with China and Thailand.  Six rounds of talks had been conducted with China and two rounds with Thailand. The chief negotiator said Sri Lanka would take steps to protect its traditional export destinations such as the United States and Europe while expanding into the East.