The Nation | May 23, 2015

Switzerland to upgrade existing trade agreements

Switzerland has recently expressed interest to upgrade the existing trade agreements, namely the ‘Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement’ and the ‘Bilateral Investment Treaty’, which the country has signed with Sri Lanka.

This was revealed by Ambassador Delegate of the Federal Council for Trade Agreements of Switzerland Livia Leu, when she visited the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, during this week.

During her discussion with CEO/Secretary General of the Chamber, Mangala Yapa, Leu also said that the Sri Lankan exporters need to take maximum use of the Swiss GSP facility given to the country.

During discussions, Yapa emphasized the importance of building two way trade and investments. He also invited the European Union country to bring in investors to Sri Lanka and take advantage of nearby markets such as India.

The Swiss delegation, which also comprised the New Delhi based Swiss envoy to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Heinz Walker Nedekoorn and a business chamber representatives of Switzerland, also stressed on the importance of having a fully-fledged ‘One Stop Shop’ in Sri Lanka, in order to facilitate foreign investors.