Hasina-Rajapaksa meet revives free-trade talks

A bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapksa has revived the talks over a Free Trade Agreement.

The move has been stalled since its initiation four years ago during the visit of Maithripala Sirisena, then the president of Sri Lanka, after the country’s government changed.

On Saturday, both sides agreed on the signing of the agreement Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said at a press conference after the bilateral talks.

“We (Bangladesh) are ready to enter a Preferential Trade Agreement if it takes time for an FTA. They (Sri Lanka) have accepted it,” he said.

“The many opportunities in our bilateral trade can be brought under a framework if we sign an FTA or PTA,” he added.

Taking a question on the discussions during Sirisena’s visit in 2017, Momen said, “We’ve almost cleared it (FTA), but it has been stalled. They are going a bit slow.”  

Pointing out the changes in Sri Lanka’s politics, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said it is not possible for all governments to take forward such matters in a changed scenario.

This time, Bangladesh is prioritising bilateral and regional FTAs because the country has become eligible to graduate to a developing nation from a least developed one with a goal to achieve the developed country status by 2041, according to him.

“We’ve agreed in today’s discussion that it takes time to sign an FTA. We’ve also agreed to continue the talks in detail. In the meantime, we will sign a PTA,” he said.

Both sides agreed in principle to sign the PTA as an interim move considering the reality, Shahriar added.

Hasina also emphasised the quick signing of a Free Trade Agreement during the talks, pointing out that the volume of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka trade is much lower than the possibilities, her Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said. A feasibility study on an FTA has already been done.

The annual trade between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is around $160 million – with Sri Lanka exporting $120 million of goods.

A journalist asked for Momen’s comments about the risks of signing an FTA with a country that exports more goods to Bangladesh than the latter does.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina holds a private discussion with her Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Prime Minister's Office in Dhaka on Saturday, Mar 20, 2021. Photo: PMO

The foreign minister said the risks were low and Bangladesh would be able to gather experience before signing FTAs with other countries.

Both Hasina and Rajapaksa emphasised exploring huge possibilities in trade, Momen said.

The two countries stressed shipping connectivity to expand trade and agreed to sign deal on operating Chattogram-Colombo feeder services and coastal shipping.

They also agreed to expand bilateral investment, avoid dual taxes and cooperate on customs.

After the meeting, the government signed six memoranda of understanding with Sri Lanka in a bid to enhance cooperation in several fields, including youth development, agriculture and technical education.