Courtesy Adaderana

The proposed Sri Lanka – Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to be signed in March 2024, in accordance with the action plan concerning the proposed agreement, Sri Lanka’s cabinet spokesman said today.

Accordingly, negotiations pertaining to the proposed FTA are scheduled to conclude in February 2024, as per the information presented by the President on the progress of the fifth round of negotiations on the proposed trade agreement, during the cabinet meeting held yesterday (24 July).

The fifth round of negotiations on the proposed agreement was held in Colombo from 26 -28 June, during which discussions regarding customs cooperation and trade facilitation, economic cooperation as well as sanitary and phytosanitary chapters were completed. 

The two nations restarted deal negotiations in January, months after a severe financial crisis engulfed Sri Lanka, as its foreign exchange reserves fell to a record low.

Sri Lanka and Thailand have held five rounds of talks on their trade agreement with the last in July.