India and Sri Lanka are now seeking to broaden the scope of the FTA through an Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) and a separate Bilateral Investment Treaty will be formed, said Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Shri Santosh Jha (Pictured) at the 75th year celebration of Sri Lanka India Society in Colombo.
India is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner, the largest foreign investor in recent years and biggest contributor to Sri Lanka’s vast tourism potential.
“India and Sri Lanka were the first in the region to sign a Free Trade Agreement in 2000. There is no doubt that FTA has served us well especially in enhancing Sri Lanka’s export potential. Once concluded, the ETCA will further strengthen the existing framework by removing impediments to genuine trade, eliminating non-tariff barriers and enabling greater trade facilitation.
The main objective remains advancing Sri Lanka’s access to vast Indian markets not just in merchandise goods but also in services and to promote further Indian investments. India is a rapidly growing engine for global growth and Sri Lanka must become more ready to take advantage of this as the preferred partner and a close neighbor.
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.”
“Connectivity undoubtedly is the central pillar of our emerging partnership and all its dimensions – air, maritime, trade, digital, energy or people-to-people connectivity.”
However, the most ambitious recent venture and also the most impactful in terms of potential, has to be the India-Sri Lanka Land Connectivity Corridor. We are now taking the first steps to translate this game-changing initiative into real action on the ground.
Once built, this connectivity corridor will transform our relations, epitomize our unbreakable partnership, and possibly uplift vast populations that it will connect, into a new era of growth and prosperity. Similarly, we are alsoworking towards setting up greater energy connectivity,” he said
