President Ranil Wickremesinghe met with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong in Tokyo recently and pledged to implement Free Trade Agreement with Singapore
During the discussions, President Wickremesinghe informed the Singaporean Prime Minister that an international trade office was being established in the President’s office.
He also explained that his priority was to bring into effect the Free Trade Agreement with Singapore.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong welcomed the news, and stated that Singapore was looking forward to investing in Sri Lanka once again.
President Wickremesinghe invited the Singaporean Prime Minister to visit Sri Lanka next year when the country celebrates its 75th Independence anniversary.
The Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2018 when Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister.
The Government led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa had raised concerns over the FTA and had proposed several amendments.
Sri Lanka signed the Sri Lanka – Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA) on 23 January 2018 and the Agreement was brought into operation with effect from 1 May 2018.
In view of the impact of the contents of this Agreement and the potential that Government states it offers to boost domestic trade, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chamber decided to set out its perspectives on the significant features of the Agreement.
In finalizing this brief a consultative process was adopted with adequate opportunities given to members of the Chamber to submit views.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce sees the Agreement positively in the context of enhancing Sri Lanka’s trade initiatives and deepening its current relations with the economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
ASEAN is a growing trading region with links to global production networks that Sri Lanka could have the potential to integrate with to diversify its exports basket and attract Foreign Direct Investment.
Considering that the Agreement is comprehensive in its coverage, there exists opportunities for Sri Lankan businesses to derive benefits from this Agreement by leveraging on the synergies it is expected to bring between trade, investment and services.
It is worthy to note that consequent to the signing of the Agreement, there have been numerous delegations that have visited the country from Singapore to explore potential investment opportunities.
The Chamber was an active stakeholder participant whenever consultations and meetings were convened by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade (MoDSIT) and with the negotiating team of SLSFTA.
The Chamber also assisted in the consultation process by making timely submissions and convening sector specific consultations on trade-in-service for its members, in maritime, construction, tourism and IT sectors, in 2017.
