

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
Articles
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28-Mar-2018 Bloomberg Sri Lanka to "redouble" efforts on China, India free trade deals
Sri Lanka will “redouble” efforts to strike a free trade deal with China and conclude and expanded trade pact with India as part of the island nation’s strategy of becoming an Indian Ocean hub for investors and multinationals, the country’s top diplomat says. -
21-Feb-2018 Mirror Citizen Suspend Indo-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) talks: PNF tells President of Sri Lanka
Professionals’ National Front (PNF), a collective of professional organizations, yesterday requested President Maithripala Sirisena to suspend talks on the Indo-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) scheduled for February 21 in New Delhi. -
12-Feb-2018 Modern Diplomacy Sri Lanka seeks deeper ties, free trade agreement with China
Sri Lanka wants a longer-time period to negotiate a free trade agreement with China as it is concerned about the economic impact of a rushed deal on their small country, the Sri Lankan ambassador said. -
9-Feb-2018 Mirror Business SL-S’pore FTA sparks investment interest among NZ firms
The recently signed Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement has been able to create a lot of enthusiasm among New Zealand companies operating in Singapore. -
5-Feb-2018 Reuters Sri Lanka eyeing longer talks with China on FTA
Sri Lanka wants a longer-time period to negotiate a free trade agreement with China as it is concerned about the economic impact of a rushed deal on their small country, the Sri Lankan ambassador said on Sunday. -
31-Jan-2018 Ceylon Today Mode 4 not opened in FTA Singapore rejects SL request
The Singapore government has rejected a request from the Sri Lankan government for the movement of natural person (mode 4) be completely opened under the Free Trade Agreement. -
29-Jan-2018 Daily Mirror Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA comes with govt’s ‘Look East’ policy: What does it mean?
So what does the government mean by ‘Looking East?’ Is it simply a buzz-word thrown in for good measure, in the process of marketing the Singapore FTA to the public? Does it point to some confusion at a policy level? Or is it terminology advised by external forces guiding policy? -
25-Jan-2018 Economic Next Sri Lanka eyes FTA with Indonesia, in continued engagement with ASEAN
Sri Lanka and Indonesia had agreed to study a free trade agreement during a state visit of President Joko Widodo to Colombo. -
23-Jan-2018 Colombo Page Singapore and Sri Lanka sign free trade agreement
Sri Lanka and Singapore signed a Free Trade Agreement deepening the economic ties and facilitating greater trade flows between the two countries. -
23-Jan-2018 Professional National Front Serious malpractices in the negotiation process of the free trade agreements
Professional National Front, an alliance of the professional associations and trade unions have observed serious violations of the law, best practices and hence the good governance in the negotiation process of the free trade Agreement. They took steps to inform all ministers of the cabinet including the president, in writing but their plea has not been heard. -
23-Jan-2018 Daily Mirror Don’t sign FTA with Singapore: Professionals tell Govt.
Ahead of the Sri Lankan government’s move to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore, a collective of professional movements have expressed grave concerns and stated that there were serious violations of the law, best practices and good governance in the negotiation process of the agreement. -
17-Jan-2018 Colombo Gazette Cabinet approves proposed FTA with Singapore
The Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be signed with Singapore -
4-Jan-2018 Daily Mirror SL-Singapore FTA first draft forwarded for Cabinet approval
Unlike trade negotiations with behemoths such as India and China, politically-backed protests have not taken place against the Sri Lanka-Singapore FTA negotiations. -
19-Dec-2017 Hiru Malaysia and Sri Lanka to speed up FTA talks
President Maithripala Sirisena and the visiting Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak agreed to expand trade relations between the 2 countries further. -
21-Nov-2017 Colombo Gazette Next round of ETCA negotiations set for next month
The key objective of ETCA is to resolve the implementation issues on the existing free trade agreement with India. -
4-Nov-2017 Colombo Page Australia, Sri Lanka sign trade and investment framework agreement
The arrangement will establish regular senior officials’ talks to facilitate trade and investment. -
21-Sep-2017 Daily Mirror.lk Taking a closer look at ETCA
If one analyses the costs and benefits then it isn’t that difficult to realize that ETCA is a decision by one country and the other is just obeying. -
7-Sep-2017 MENAFN Sri Lanka to sign FTA with Singapore in October
Sri Lanka is likely to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Singapore in October as the island country looks to attract more foreign investments -
15-Aug-2017 Economy Next Sri Lankan industrialists worry over China trade deal, cess removal
Sri Lankan industrialists have voiced concern over a proposed free trade agreement with China and government plans to reduce import tariffs that protect them, saying they feared they might not be able to compete. -
17-Jul-2017 Colombo Gazette Bangladesh confirms Sri Lanka FTA to be signed this year
Dhaka has been negotiating the FTA with Colombo since 2013 to increase trade now worth $80 million every year.