bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

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


Demystifying regional services trade agreements
Summarises basic features of a regional services trade agreement with specific reference to India and Sri Lanka
Cotton yarn to come under amended FTA soon
The Indian Government and the Sri Lankan Government will renew the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Ministry is planning to include the import of yarn in the FTA.
Parliament: FTA favours India
The balance of trade between Sri Lanka and India continues to be highly in favour of that country since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the two nations, Sri Lanka’s Parliament was told today.
FCCISL, FPCCI sign agreement
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) at the Sri Lanka-Pakistan Business Forum 2010 yesterday.
Surprised By FTA Request
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
"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
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
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
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
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.