Sri Lanka is keen to upgrade the present free commerce settlement with India to achieve higher market entry for items resembling textiles and vehicles components and embody companies, significantly IT/ITES, mentioned Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda.
As the Sri Lankan financial system is getting ready to transfer from stablisation to the revival stage, the nation is taking a look at India for assist by way of higher investments, commerce and stream of vacationers, mentioned Maragoda at interplay with the media, organised by the Indian Women’s Press Corps recently.
“We are grateful for the support provided by India to Sri Lanka so far. In the stabilisation phase, without India we would not have been able to last this long. In the revival phase, we are looking at more market access and investment from India,” mentioned Moragoda, including that the quickest manner for the financial system to bounce again can be by way of tourism.
Sri Lanka goes by way of its worst financial disaster with the federal government blaming the Covid pandemic, which badly affected Sri Lanka’s vacationer commerce, for battering its international trade reserves. The nation is predicted to make a presentation to its worldwide collectors this week giving particulars of plans for its debt restructuring and the multibillion-dollar IMF bailout.
Answering questions, the Sri Lanka High Commissioner mentioned that India had not rejected any requests for extra credit score made by his nation and talks had been on. India has dedicated greater than $3 bn in loans, credit score traces and credit score swaps to Sri Lanka up to now.
On the India-Sri Lanka FTA, Moragoda identified that his nation’s President had not too long ago expressed curiosity in upgradation of the FTA right into a complete financial and technological partnership and work was beginning within the path.
“We want to be part of India’s value chain in areas such as textiles and automobiles,” he mentioned including that the upgraded FTA may assist in reaching that.
Moragoda identified that there was already loads of collaboration occurring within the space of IT with Indian majors resembling HCL, Tata and Infosys expressing curiosity.
