Lanka, Thailand to finalise FTA in Feb next year

Sri Lanka and Thailand have agreed to sign the Sri Lanka-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (SLTFTA) in February, 2024, the Foreign Ministry announced yesterday (14).The Foreign Ministry said that to pave the way for the signing of the agreement, the negotiations on the agreement would be concluded by the end of this month.

The announcement was made after the successful completion of the eighth round of SLTFTA negotiations held from 27-29 November in Bangkok, Thailand. The negotiations were co-chaired by the Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations and the Chief Negotiator of Thailand Auramon Supthaweethum and the Chief Negotiator of Sri Lanka K. J. Weerasinghe.

At a seminar on “trade and investment opportunities in Thailand and Sri Lanka” organised in Bangkok, Ambassador of Sri Lanka and Permanent Representative to the UNESCAP, C. A. Chaminda I. Colonne said that in spite of the longstanding historical relations between the two nations based on shared Buddhist religious values, the two-way trade between Sri Lanka and Thailand amounted to only USD 352 million in 2022.

Colonne said that total investments received from Thailand in Sri Lanka is negligible, with only USD 0.74 million recorded in 2022. The Ambassador stated that the vision of the Government of Sri Lanka is to integrate itself into the global economy and in this context, to expand economic and trade relations to South Asia and then to the east and to join Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), for which Sri Lanka has submitted its letter of intent.