Sri Lanka and India are working towards finalising the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) by mid-2016, reports Colombo Page.

Sri Lanka’s Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry said in a statement that the two sides would aim to sign a Framework Agreement by February 2016 and the ETCA by mid 2016.

The statement added that the Indian government would organise workshops in Sri Lanka to raise awareness amongst Sri Lankan exporters/officials to increase awareness of Indian standards and regulations. 

The ministry added,

“India is Sri Lanka’s largest as well as the most balanced trading partner Overall bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded US$ 4.5 billion in 2014. India is the largest source of imports of Sri Lanka and the third largest destination for Sri Lankan exports. The ETCA will support to build on this solid foundation taking into account the asymmetry between the two countries. For  small country like Sri Lanka, it is always advantageous to engage in rules based trading with a larger trading partner India, and the ETCA will provide that framework for deeper economic engagement with India.”

A top level Sri Lankan official delegation will visit India to attend a meeting in New Delhi to discuss modalities of the proposed agreement that will cover investment and services, official sources told The Sunday Times, adding that this agreement was completely different from the earlier proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was opposed by many organisations in the south.

However the ETCA is also being opposed, with several trade unions planning a strike in the new year, which will also be targeted at the new agreement, alongside grievances about the recent budget.

Doctors' union to protest Indian 'invasion' of Sri Lankan job market (22 Dec 2015)

At consultations with tourism industry leaders it was decided that  under the agreement, Indian skilled personnel will only be given employment in Sri Lanka on a case-by-case basis, depending on the availability of local skills. It was further decided not to allow Indian tour guides to operate in Sri Lanka except for tour representatives, tour leaders and language experts under the ETCA. It was decided hat Indians would be allowed to enter into only two specific sub- sectors – IT-enabled services and highly skilled workers for Colombo Dockyard, sources told The Sunday Times.

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