Minister of Commerce and Industry of India Nirmala Sitharaman, Nirmala Sitharaman, while addressing the media in Colombo yesterday , said that signing the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) is confirmed. Through this agreement Sri Lanka will have access to 1. 25 billion market,
Commenting on protests against the proposed agreement within Srilanka , Minister Sitharaman reassured Colombo that ETCA won’t be thrusted upon in Srilanka . But negotiations will include detailed discussions on ironing out concerns without timeline pressures.
She stated that it is important to recognise that this negotiation has to be done in detail and without any pressure on the timeline and that it has to be done with a lot of trust.
It is important to recognize that both sides should be at ease when they conclude this.
She further said that, agreements of this nature will have to be done with a sense of responsibility and understanding
She also said that a team from Sri Lanka is due to arrive in New Delhi early next month October for negotiations and the agreement is part of India’s neighbourhood first policy.
Minister of Trade and Strategic Development, Malik Samarawickrama, said the government is hoping to finalise the agreement soon but there is no pressure to finalise it by end this year.
“What I would request the media is to look at the positive side of it. I am sure all the fears of the business community will be addressed. So look at it positively how Sri Lanka can benefit out of this agreement”, said Malik Samarawickrama while addressing the media.
