Trade between India and Sri Lanka is set to improve as the two countries are engaged in discussion over signing of Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement, a top Sri Lankan official said here today.
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"We were the first to sign the Free Trade Agreement with India in 2000. Now, the process for signing the ETCA (Economic and Technology Cooperation) Agreement are on. It is still under discussion," Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner V Krishnamoorthy told reporters."We are good at garments. We have good knowledge and we are good at technical skills. You (India) have an advantage both technically and scientifically. For that we want to formalise an agreement," he said.
Trade between the two countries was expected to reach USD six billion this year from USD 4.9 billion registered last year, he said while delivering the keynote address at a conference organised by CII.
"Total trade between the two countries has risen tremendously to reach USD 4.9 billion by December 2015 from a mere USD 0.56 billion in 1999. I am confident that it will cross USD 6 billion this year", he said.
Exports from the island nation had increased substantially from USD 35.3 million in 1999 to USD 643 million in 2015, he said, adding "India has emerged the third largest export market for Sri Lanka".
"Our present task is to explore this huge potential. I think, the potential should be investigated with the assistance of the business community," Krishnamoorthy said.
He said Indian automobile manufacturers are importing automotive electronic and automotive parts for their products from other countries.
"Due to some unknown reasons, either the automobile manufacturers or importers who are in the supply chain of these giant automobile manufacturers have not noticed the definite advantage of importing these automobile parts from Sri Lanka," he said.
A business delegation from Sri Lanka would undertake a two day visit with their counterparts in Chennai and Bengaluru, besides visiting factories of various automobile manufacturers, he said.
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