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  1. Negotiations

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has preferential and free trade agreements with India, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Singapore and Israel. It is currently in the processing of upgrading its agreement with India to a much more comprehensive one.

Sri Lanka is also party to SAFTA, the agreement on a South Asia Free Trade Area, as well as BIMSTEC, which aims to hammer out a regional FTA.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Sri Lankan engineers’ association

Surprised By FTA Request
5-Sep-2010
Sri Lanka’s request for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan came as a surprise, a Japanese official speaking on the grounds of anonymity told The Sunday Leader.
Role of Imports in the Sri Lankan Economy
30-Aug-2010
"It is an honour to be the Chief Guest at the AGM of the Import Section of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. I thought that it will be appropriate to share some of my views of the import sector of Sri Lanka so as to identify its current role in the Sri Lankan economy and its role in the future.
Shrouded in secrecy
29-Aug-2010 Sunday Leader
Director General Commerce Department Gomi Senadhira let the cat out of the bag when he told a seminar on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) last Friday, that it was an agreement which was originally due to have had been signed in 2008 when Indian Premier Manmohan Singh visited the island for the SAARC summit, based on contents already agreed upon.
Commerce Dept: No intention to hide facts in CEPA
16-Aug-2010
The Government has no intention to hide the facts in the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Sri Lanka and all the details will be made public before agreement is signed, a senior official said.
Lanka to expand trade with Bangladesh
15-Aug-2010
Trade between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will grow due to the vast opportunities in both countries to expand business, said High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Mahbub Uz Zamman.
Sri Lanka told time running out for new trade deal with India
23-Jul-2010 LBO
Sri Lanka could lose more opportunities to access India’s huge market owing to delays in striking a new economic partnership deal with her neighbour, the Indian envoy in Colombo has warned.
Indo – Lanka FTA not up to expectations since a decade
3-Jul-2010
Ten years after the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Sri Lanka which came into full existence in March 1, 2000, most heads of Sri Lankan chambers of commerce and industries say that its performance is not up to expectation even after a decade.
Sri Lanka rejects EU’s rights conditions for trade benefits, saying they violate sovereignty
26-Jun-2010 Canadian Press
Sri Lanka’s trade benefits with the world’s biggest consumer market are due to expire Aug. 15. The EU had asked Sri Lanka to give a written commitment by July 1 pledging to improve human rights before it would consider renewing them.
DNA wants a CEPA debate
31-May-2010 Daily Mirror
The Democratic National Alliance in Sri Lanka has decided to ask for a parliamentary debate on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to be signed with India and asked the government to disclose the contents of the agreement.
CEPA signing likely to delay
31-May-2010 The Nation
Although Governments of India and Sri Lanka have shown keen interest in expediting their mutual trade pact, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is likely to get delayed after local business leaders have expressed grave concerns over its impact on Sri Lankan economy.