India, Sri Lanka Expand Scope of Free Trade Agreement
Posted on August 5th, 2018
Courtesy Prensa Latina
New Delhi, Aug 5 (Prensa Latina) India and Sri Lanka are celebrating the tenth round of talks to expand the scope of the free trade agreement, in negotiations that are likely to conclude in December, as reported today in this capital.
The talks are going at a healthy pace and both countries aim to conclude them in December for the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement, noted the Press Trust of India news agency.
The pact aims to further boost economic ties between the two countries through the liberalization of trade rules, pointed out the source.
Both countries already have a free trade agreement on goods, implemented in March 2000, but now the talks broaden their scope to include services and investments, to make it more complete, it added.
India has a healthy trade surplus in goods with Sri Lanka, its main trading partner in the South Asian region.
The South Asian country exported goods worth 4.5 billion dollars in 2017-18, while its imports from the neighboring country were only 773 million dollars.
August 5th, 2018 at 5:33 pm
What a total disaster!
Since the 2000 FTA with India, our trade deficit with India has risen to $4 billion which is the worst against any country. It totally destroyed local competing industries and drove the economy into negative growth in 2001.
With further trade co-operation, it will worsen. The government is insane to do so. The right thing to do is to scrap the FTA with India and restrict Indian goods and services imports.
August 6th, 2018 at 7:34 pm
India has 226m youth between the age of 19 and 26.
Natives of SL will be converted to dust if a part of them move here.