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India, Sri Lanka To Sign Economic Pact In 2016
Friday, September 18, 2015 by Indiandefense News
India and Sri Lanka plan to sign a wide-ranging economic pact in mid-2016. During his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, visiting Sri Lankan Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe said that his government was preparing a draft of the framework deal that would be readied for discussion by the end of this year.
Prime Minister Wickremsinghe, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday for a three-day visit, stressed that Colombo would sign the deal as a part of its plan to strengthen overall co-operation with New Delhi.
In the presence of the Indian PM, Wickremesinghe told the media that Sri Lanka would sign a permanent agreement on co-operation on economic affairs, with a special emphasis on trade and investment and also on technology. He admitted that it would be difficult for the tiny Island nation to ensure economic growth without India’s help.
The visiting premier announced that senior Sri Lankan officials would visit India later this year to discuss different aspects of the draft agreement and the final agreement would be signed only after the completion of their discussions. According to Wickremesinghe, although a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two SAARC members has been in the works for the last 10 years, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa discouraged imports of Indian goods by imposing higher duties.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe further said that his government would remain committed to continue trade and investment arrangements with India and other South Asian countries. “We hope this will lead to the next step, where the private sector from both sides could co-operate,” he added.
Claiming that India-Sri Lanka economic co-operation has been going on for more than 2,500 years, the visiting leader insisted that it would be important for the two countries to lift trade barriers in order to allow common people to enjoy mutual trade benefit.
Meanwhile, the Indian PM informed the media that his country would bolster defence ties with its southern neighbour. Speaking at the joint press conference after meeting his Sri Lankan counterpart, Modi said that both New Delhi and Colombo recognised their closely aligned security interests in the region. “We both reaffirmed our commitment to deepen our defence and security co-operation. Sri Lanka is our largest partner in defence training programme and we will continue to expand our co-operation in this area,” he stressed.
Modi also thanked Wickremesinghe for choosing India for his first overseas trip after becoming PM for the fourth term, saying that Sri Lanka would definitely achieve “genuine reconciliation” and make economic progress so that people across the Island, including the Tamil community, could live a “life of equality, justice, peace and dignity”. “Your (Sri Lanka’s) progress is important for our two countries, South Asia and our maritime region,” he told his guest.
Friday, September 18, 2015 by Indiandefense News
India and Sri Lanka plan to sign a wide-ranging economic pact in mid-2016. During his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, visiting Sri Lankan Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe said that his government was preparing a draft of the framework deal that would be readied for discussion by the end of this year.
Prime Minister Wickremsinghe, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday for a three-day visit, stressed that Colombo would sign the deal as a part of its plan to strengthen overall co-operation with New Delhi.
In the presence of the Indian PM, Wickremesinghe told the media that Sri Lanka would sign a permanent agreement on co-operation on economic affairs, with a special emphasis on trade and investment and also on technology. He admitted that it would be difficult for the tiny Island nation to ensure economic growth without India’s help.
The visiting premier announced that senior Sri Lankan officials would visit India later this year to discuss different aspects of the draft agreement and the final agreement would be signed only after the completion of their discussions. According to Wickremesinghe, although a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between the two SAARC members has been in the works for the last 10 years, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa discouraged imports of Indian goods by imposing higher duties.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe further said that his government would remain committed to continue trade and investment arrangements with India and other South Asian countries. “We hope this will lead to the next step, where the private sector from both sides could co-operate,” he added.
Claiming that India-Sri Lanka economic co-operation has been going on for more than 2,500 years, the visiting leader insisted that it would be important for the two countries to lift trade barriers in order to allow common people to enjoy mutual trade benefit.
Meanwhile, the Indian PM informed the media that his country would bolster defence ties with its southern neighbour. Speaking at the joint press conference after meeting his Sri Lankan counterpart, Modi said that both New Delhi and Colombo recognised their closely aligned security interests in the region. “We both reaffirmed our commitment to deepen our defence and security co-operation. Sri Lanka is our largest partner in defence training programme and we will continue to expand our co-operation in this area,” he stressed.
Modi also thanked Wickremesinghe for choosing India for his first overseas trip after becoming PM for the fourth term, saying that Sri Lanka would definitely achieve “genuine reconciliation” and make economic progress so that people across the Island, including the Tamil community, could live a “life of equality, justice, peace and dignity”. “Your (Sri Lanka’s) progress is important for our two countries, South Asia and our maritime region,” he told his guest.
