During his visit to New Delhi last month, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama held discussions on the ETCA agreement with India’s Commerce and Industry 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.
As a follow up of this discussion, an Indian delegation is scheduled to arrive in the island tomorrow.
The delegation will be led by the Joint Secretary at the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry Bhupinder Bhalla and comprises officials from several concerned departments.
Indian media reported, the delegation will hold talks with the Lankan counterparts to discuss the proposed draft and the discussions are expected to set the path for the finalization of the agreement.
Amidst concerns raised by the civil society organizations and critics against the proposed agreement, Minister Samarawickrama last week assured that ETCA will be signed after necessary consultation with Chambers of Commerce and professional bodies in the country.
He dismissed the concern that Sri Lankans will lose job opportunities to the Indian professionals if the agreement comes into effect and said the agreement with India will in fact increase job opportunities for Sri Lankans as India will set up an economic zone in the country, and also pharmaceutical and auto parts manufacturing plants which will generate new job opportunities for Sri Lankans.
The Indo-Sri Lanka ETCA agreement is expected to be signed later this year.
