Indo, Pak trade officials due for CEPA talks

Officials from Pakistan and India are due in mid-December and early-January respectively to discuss a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) with Sri Lanka.

Talks with India for a CEPA is at an advanced stage while discussions with Pakistan team will be on taking the existing Free Trade Agreement towards the next level of CEPA.

India and Lanka previously expressed keenness to finalise the CEPA by end 2007 with an idea to ratify a formal agreement early next year.

Sri Lanka’s trade with India and Pakistan, since signing the FTAs came into force from 2000 and 2004 respectively, has swelled considerably. For example India has become Sri Lanka’s number one trading partner recording an unprecedented bilateral turnover of US $ 2.3 billion in 2006. Last year India was the largest source of imports for Sri Lanka accounting for 18.5% of total imports and also the 3rd largest export destination after the USA and the EU accounting for 7.2%.

In a related trade liberalization development, the South Asian Trade Secretaries who are in the Committee of Experts in the SAARC countries will be meeting in Dhaka this week to discuss improvements to the regional Free Trade Agreement.