News
Sri Lanka, Thailand discusses FTA as the country tries to enhance economic relations with ASEAN
The fourth round of negotiations on the proposed Sri Lanka-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (SLTFTA) was held in Colombo from 27 to 29 March 2023 in with Sri Lankan President’s vision of enhancing economic relations with large and emerging economies, with a particular focus on ASEAN countries, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.
The PMD said on March 26, a 35-member Thai delegation led by Auramon Supathaweethum, Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations, arrived in Sri Lanka for the talks.
Along with their focus on trade negotiations, the delegation also strengthened the longstanding religious and cultural ties between the two countries by offering gifts to the Gangarama temple on the same day.
The National Trade Negotiations team representing Sri Lanka at the talks was led by K. J. Weerasinghe, the Chief Negotiator of the Presidential Secretariat, the PMD said.
The Sri Lankan negotiation team comprised officials from various departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, Ministry of Industry, Department of Trade and Investment Policy, Attorney General’s Department, Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.
During the third round of negotiations in January, discussions on the proposed Sri Lanka-Thailand Free Trade Agreement focused on areas such as trade in goods, trade in services, investment, rules of origin, customs cooperation, trade facilitation, and economic cooperation.
The fourth round of talks built on the principles already agreed upon and delve deeper into these areas. Additionally, discussions will be held on trade remedies, technical barriers to trade (TBT), and legal matters.
Prior to the fourth round of negotiations, the National Trade Negotiations Committee and relevant sub-committees engaged in discussions with various industry sectors and stakeholders. The points raised during these discussions were taken into consideration and used appropriately during the fourth round of talks.
The Sri Lankan negotiating team’s goals for the talks focused not only to increase Sri- Lankan exports’ access to the Thai market, but also to improve market access to other ASEAN countries through the Thai market, and to reduce existing non-tariff barriers.
According to the PMD, Sri Lanka in 2021 imported goods from Thailand worth 355 million U.S. dollars and exported goods worth 59 million dollars to Thailand.
In terms of the provisions of the Establishments Code on payment of festival advance to government officers, there’s a possibility of obtaining rupees 10,000/- as an advance for celebrating festivals of Theipongal, Ramazan, Sinhala and Hindu New Year, Wesak, Deepavali, and Christmas as well as for pilgrimages (Sri Paada pilgrimage and Hajj pilgrimage).
Provisions have been given to recover the said advance in 08 installments or if required earlier without interest. It has been proposed by the Budget 2026 to increase the said festival advance up to rupees 15,000/-.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local governments to revise the relevant provisions so that the festival advance can be increased up to rupees 15,000/- .
As per the approval given by the cabinet meeting held on 02-06-2025, action is being taken at present to offer the underutilized lands/properties of the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Etate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation Company which are under the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure which have been identified under stage one to suitable investors.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Plantations and Community Infrastructure to provide following lands/properties on a lease basis to the suitable investors for optimal utilization following the prescribed procurement procedure.
• underutilized lands/properties identified under stage two owned by the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, the Janatha Estate Development Board, and the Elkaduwa Plantation
Company,
• The Mawarala watte land and the Tea factory 40.48 hectares in extent, located in Matara District belonging to the Tea Shakthi Fund.
• The underutilized land of 1,541 hectares in extent of Kondachchi Estate is enjoyed by the Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation.
The drafting of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has commenced with the objective of equitable distribution of the benefits of the fisheries industry and the sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture. This policy has been updated from time to time according to current requirements. However, steps have not been taken to obtain the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for that purpose.
According to the policy declaration of the present government, ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor’ the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy has been redrafted, updating the aforementioned policy in line with the economic and development objectives of the government.
The recommendations of the Department of National Planning have been received for the drafted policy.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Marine
Resources to implement the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, integrating it with other relevant policies.
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Providing underutilized lands/properties to suitable investors for optimal utilization.
Implementation of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy
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