Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2021-06-14

Commencing negotiations between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh for entering into a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA)

- Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh function as the stakeholder member countries of the SAARC Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA), the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP), and the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) and the proposed Agreement on Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Although there are special provisions provided under the said agreements, the trade between two countries remains to be minimal. During the official visit made by the Hon. Prime Minister to Bangladesh during last March, leaders of the both countries acknowledged the necessity of entering into a Free Trade Agreement between the Countries immediately. Further, both countries agreed upon to explore the possibility of entering into a Preferential Trade Agreement with a short list of products. Accordingly, the proposal made by the Minister of Trade for conducting negotiations with the relevant authorities with regard to entering into a preferential trade agreement with Bangladesh, was approved by the Cabinet.