India and Sri Lanka have resumed negotiations on the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement following a five-year break. The parties convened in Colombo for the twelfth round of negotiations on the agreement.
Following eleven rounds of talks between New Delhi and Colombo between 2016 and 2018, the talks came to an end.
The parties evaluated their progress up to the eleventh round & held talks on a number of topics during this round, such as trade in goods, trade barriers that are technological, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade in services, customs procedures and trade facilitation, rules of origin, trade remedies, economic and technological cooperation, and dispute resolution. In a formal statement, both parties stated where they agreed and where they needed to come up with innovative solutions.
“In this round, after reviewing implementation progress, both parties decided to drop nine issues as resolved. Both parties decided to carry on the conversation and look into new possibilities for resolving the conflict after discussing issues like the clothing and pepper quotas and the purchase of medications, according to the statement.
During President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s July visit to India, he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the ECTA.
Regarding the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) between India and Sri Lanka, both parties have emphasized the importance of building upon their previous progress while remaining flexible to adapt to new developments. It is anticipated that if these negotiations are completed successfully, new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation will open up that will benefit both countries. An important factor in accelerating bilateral trade between the two nations will be the India-Sri Lanka ETCA. Both sides have acknowledged the significant potential in their trade partnership and the promising prospects for expanding economic relations in areas of shared interest, as per the provided statement.
