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Lanka to resume negotiations on stalled trade agreement with India

Published

3 years ago

2022/12/11

Thilina Walpola

11 rounds of bilateral negotiations were held on the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement

BY MEERA SRINIVASAN

Sri Lanka will soon resume talks with India on the stalled Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), authorities said, as Colombo looks to trade pacts and foreign direct investments to rebuild its crisis-hit economy.

“We hope to commence negotiations on the ETCA later this month,” said K.J. Weerasinghe, Chief Negotiator of FTAs at the International Trade Office, recently set up under the Presidential Secretariat. “We had finished 11 rounds of bilateral talks the last time [between 2016 and 2019] with the aim of broadening and deepening the [ISFTA] that is in force since India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement,” said the senior official, who was formerly Director General of the Department of Commerce, following several diplomatic stints focusing on Sri Lanka’s international trade interests.

However, the Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government that was in power at the time could not complete negotiations. The ETCA faced considerable resistance from sections within Sri Lanka, mainly from nationalist groups and trade unions who saw the pact as giving India an unfair advantage. The ETCA itself followed decade-long, but futile, negotiations on yet another pact — the “Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)”.

Sri Lanka’s recent emphasis on FTAs and FDIs is part of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s strategy for economic recovery in the island nation, reeling under the impact of its worst economic crash. The country’s economy contracted by an estimated 9.2 % this year and is estimated to contract by a further 4.2 % in 2023, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, the government is talking to its creditors to restructure its foreign debt and qualify for IMF support early next year.

In his Budget speech last month Wickremesinghe, who is also the Finance Minister, underscored the need for Sri Lanka to have greater access to the world market. “Towards this end, Sri Lanka has resumed efforts to integrate with key markets such as India and China. Sri Lanka will also resume trade negotiations with Thailand, which along with the FTA with Singapore, sets the steppingstone for Sri Lanka to engage in dynamic regional trading arrangements such as Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),” he told Parliament. The six-time Prime Minister was elected President through an urgent parliamentary vote in July at the height of Sri Lanka’s crisis. He replaced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country after being ousted by a popular people’s uprising.

In line with Wickremesinghe’s vision, the International Trade Office is focussing on greater engagement in the neighbourhood, a “look east” policy, for possible integration with RCEP down the line, Weerasinghe told The Hindu in an interview at his office facing the Presidential palace that anti-government protesters stormed in July in a culmination of mass agitations.

India and China are the top two sources of import for Sri Lanka. In 2021, Sri Lanka’s imports from India totaled In the coming talks with India, Sri Lanka seeks to negotiate an explicit acknowledgment of the “asymmetry” in trade with India [in the proposed ETCA]; work together to address some pending concerns over the implementation of the existing ISFTA and negotiate for an easing of quotas on Sri Lankan exports to India. “We must also take a fresh look at services. Rather than taking rigid, inflexible positions, we must see how to make this [pact] a win-win agreement for both countries,” Weerasinghe said. $ 4.74 billion, while the island nation exported about $980 million worth of good to India.

(The Hindu)

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President meets senior officials of the Urban Development Authority

Published

21 seconds ago

2026/05/18

Priyan

A discussion between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and senior officials of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) was held this afternoon (18) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The meeting focused extensively on new development projects planned by the Urban Development Authority. The President emphasised the need to ensure that the budgetary allocations made for these projects in the current year are utilised effectively within the same financial year.

Detailed discussions were also held on projects planned to be implemented jointly by multiple institutions, including the importance of holding consultations with all relevant agencies to reach final decisions and the need to clearly define responsibilities for each institution in both implementation and maintenance phases of the projects.

Attention was drawn to key initiatives such as the Kelani River flood control project, water management projects in Colombo city and the Beira Lake restoration project. The need for a dedicated programme for low-income housing in areas such as Ratmalana and Moratuwa was also highlighted. During the discussion, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake underscored the importance of introducing a structured management framework for the effective coordination of certain projects.

Deputy Minister of Urban Development, Eranga Gunasekara, Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, Senior Professor Kapila C.K. Perera, Chairman of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), M.G. Hemachandra and the Heads representing the Urban Settlement Development Authority (USDA), Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), National Physical Planning Department (NPPD) and the Condominium Management Authority (CMA) were also present at the meeting.

(PMD)

News

CEAT Kelani Branch Inter-Company Employees’ Union makes donation to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

5 mins ago

2026/05/18

Priyan

The Inter-Company Employees’ Union of the Kelaniya Branch of CEAT Sri Lanka has made a financial donation of Rs. 1,148,000.00, a day’s salary of its members to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund established to support the restoration of livelihoods and the rebuilding of areas affected by cyclone Ditwah.

Secretary of the Inter-Company Employees’ Union of the CEAT Kelani Branch, D.G.S.D. Navaratne, handed over the donation to the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabhath Chandrakeerthi at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (18).

Treasurer of the Inter-Company Employees’ Union of the CEAT Kelani Branch, Y.P.I.C. Karunathilaka, together with members of the Executive Committee, were also present on the occasion.

(PMD)

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Prime Minister off to the United Kingdom to participate in the 22nd Annual Commonwealth Education Forum

Published

2 hours ago

2026/05/18

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya departed on an official visit to the United Kingdom to participate in the 22nd Annual Commonwealth Education Forum and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) 2026 Board of Governors Meeting.

During the visit, the Prime Minister is scheduled to participate in several high-level academic and diplomatic engagements aimed at strengthening cooperation in the fields of education, development studies, research collaboration, and international partnerships.

As part of the visit, the Prime Minister will meet with Ms.Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education of the United Kingdom, at the UK Department for Education, to discuss areas of cooperation in education and related sectors. She is also expected to meet Ms.Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, for discussions on matters of bilateral interest and cooperation between Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.

In addition, the Prime Minister is expected to meet Ms.Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, on the sidelines of the 22nd Annual Commonwealth Education Forum and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) 2026 Board of Governors Meeting.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will attend a public event at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex and she will also take part in the ceremony marking the 60th Anniversary of the Institute of Development Studies. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to address a session at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies at the University of Oxford, followed by a question-and-answer session with scholars and students.

The visit is expected to strengthen Sri Lanka’s engagement with academic institutions, international development partners, and Commonwealth member states, particularly in the areas of education, research, policy dialogue, and capacity building.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]