Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman is due to visit the island today (26).
Her visit pertains to attending final discussions which are due to take place before the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement or ETCA.
Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion, Higher Education and Highways Eran Wickramaratne said discussions over the ETCA agreement were held previously with a group of Indian representatives.
However Deputy Minister Wickramaratne said the ETCA agreement will only be signed according to economic polices the government will introduce in future.
The Indo-Sri Lanka ETCA agreement is expected to be signed later this year.
During his visit to New Delhi last month, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama held discussions on the ETCA agreement with Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The two ministers reviewed the progress of the Agreement and agreed to start negotiations soon to finalize the agreement before the end of the year.
Amidst concerns raised by the civil society organizations and critics against the proposed agreement, Minister Samarawickrama assured that ETCA will be signed after necessary consultation with Chambers of Commerce and professional bodies in the country.
