Sri Lanka and Pakistan to further strengthen Bilateral ties & FTA

Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi met his Sri Lankan counterpart Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, yesterday and called for the reinforcement of the Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Sri Lanka (FTAP). Qureshi, on a two-day visit, met on Monday with the president and the prime minister. He addressed increasing bilateral relations during his meeting with Minister Gunawardena to diversify and expand critical sectors, according to a media release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

He said Pakistan looks forward to working with Sri Lanka with great enthusiasm, inviting the minister to visit the country soon. Foreign Minister Gunawardena, Foreign Minister Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha, and senior officials at the Ministry met with the visiting Pakistani delegation headed by Qureshi. He commended the efforts of the Sri Lankan government to strengthen defence cooperation and looked forward to further sharing of intelligence to help each other as committed neighbours.

While calling on both countries to strengthen the current FTA, the visiting Foreign Minister pointed out that Sri Lanka has not ultimately used its $200 million credit line with Pakistan. Qureshi invited Sri Lanka to take advantage of the opportunity, particularly in the area of animal husbandry, a move that he believed would benefit Sri Lanka. He also requested that the business sector in Sri Lanka visit Pakistan and establish connexions with appropriate counterparts in Pakistan, and claimed that Minister Gunawardena initiate a program to that effect.

Minister Gunawardena informed his counterpart that, in addition to the growing bilateral economic partnership, Sri Lanka is committed to continuing its partnership with Pakistan in all possible areas of cooperation, and looked forward to engaging in tourism and higher education. Minister Qureshi also invited a delegation of Sri Lankan Buddhist clergy to visit Pakistan and witness the beautiful religious sites of Buddhism, and to travel the country to strengthen the growing cultural relationships.

OSL Take: Sri Lanka already has a free trade agreement (FTA) with Pakistan, and the continued assistance would help build investment opportunities in various sectors.

The move to further strengthen bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan as well as the redoubling of trade promotions to invigorate efforts to reach the target of US$ 1 billion trade by 2020 are indications of the island nation becoming a hot spot for those looking at entering the Pakistan market using the facilities available in the Pakistan–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement.

VBS/AT/10022020/Z_TB2