SRI LANKA AND CHINA AND THE COMMON GOAL ON THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

On May 2, 2016 the Sri Lanka Minister announced that Sri Lanka and China are seriously evaluating the opportunity of signing the Free Trade Agreement – FTA, which would be useful for the economy of both countries. Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen is examining the FTA papers, saying that the signing procedures of this agreement are on the way to the final round of talks between China and Sri Lanka in June this year.

“China is a promising market for Sri Lanka high-end products such as gems, and an important round of bilateral talks between Sri Lanka China on the FTA is scheduled for next month” said Rishard Bathiudeen.

The Minister believes that Sri Lanka is ready to follow the principles of WTO worldwide economy and to enhance export market action, aiming at bringing its products in the world while opening and integrating the country in the global economy.

“Sri Lanka actively involves in Economic Commissions and bilateral forums with a great number of countries in order to enhance our trade and commercial relations” stated the Minister, “For example, Sri Lanka has already signed free trade agreements with India and Pakistan and both agreements allow more than 4,000 kinds of products to be exported to these markets at zero duty.”

He added that in the bilateral exchange relation between Sri Lanka and China, last year the trade volume crossed for the first time 4 billion USD.

According to the statistics of Sri Lankan customs, about 93% of last year total export trade was toward China, especially for iron and steel, fabrics & fibers, cotton and fertilizer products.This shows that Sri Lanka has a great offer on the market of these materials.

The 2nd China Products Show (Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 22- 24, 2016) will provide a good opportunity for Chinese enterprises for expanding and developing in the Sri Lanka market.

We look forward to your participation in the show to explore Sri Lanka market and support you in finding your perfect match business partner.