Bangladesh, Sri Lanka to resume talks on bilateral trade deal this month
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka plan to hold an introductory meeting virtually on 29 May to commence negotiations for the proposed preferential trade agreement (PTA), which is expected to eventually lead to a free trade agreement (FTA).
"We are having a virtual meeting on 29 May with the Bangladeshi counterparts. It's going to be a sort of an introductory meeting," Sri Lanka's Chief FTA Negotiator at the International Trade Office established at the Presidential Secretariat, KJ Weerasinghe, told Mirror Business.
The two parties are expected to finalise dates and venues to hold negotiations on the proposed PTA during this virtual meeting.
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Hoping that the proposed PTA will expand to an FTA in future, the chief negotiator said, "The first stage is going to be a PTA, then it will eventually lead to a FTA; but it's going to take some time."
Sri Lanka government expects to conclude negotiations for the proposed PTA by the end of this year or early part of the first quarter of next year, reports Daily Mirror.
According to a study conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), the proposed PTA could potentially increase the volume of trade between the two countries, leading to a 25% increase in bilateral trade within five years.
In particular, the proposed PTA has the potential to increase bilateral trade in fabric and yarn benefiting both countries.
So far, under the proposed PTA, Sri Lanka has sent a list of 112 items, seeking duty-free access to Bangladesh market, while similarly, Bangladesh has sought duty-free access to more than 100 products in the Sri Lankan market.
