Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha underlined India and Sri Lanka are seeking to broaden the scope of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) through an Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) even as a separate Bilateral Investment Treaty will also be formed.
This is as per media reports which added the Indian envoy stated this while addressing the 75th year celebration of the Sri Lanka India Society in Colombo recently.
Speaking at the event, Santosh Jha reportedly said the FTA signed in 2000 had served its purpose well, especially in enhancing Sri Lanka’s export potential, while adding once concluded, the ETCA will further strengthen existing framework by removing impediments to genuine trade, eliminating non-tariff barriers, and enabling greater trade facilitation.
Emphasising that India is a rapidly growing engine for global growth and Sri Lanka should leverage and take advantage of this as the preferred partner and a close neighbour, he said: “Our desire to support Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and its renewed quest for development is reflected also in our efforts to encourage the Indian private sector to invest in Sri Lanka,” while adding connectivity remains the central pillar of India-Sri Lanka emerging partnership and all its dimensions.
He further added India is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner and the largest foreign investor in recent years and opined the India-Sri Lanka Land Connectivity Corridor is the most ambitious recent venture, and also the most impactful in terms of potential even as initial steps to translate this game-changing initiative into real action on the ground has now being taken.
