A major policy reversal stuns the public as the government signals full commitment to advancing the long stalled ETCA with India despite once fiercely opposing it in Parliament.
The government is now fully committed to taking forward the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement with India, Minister of Trade, Cooperatives and Food Security Wasantha Samarasinghe said in Parliament. The Minister explained that future interventions must be carried out with awareness, strategic alignment and a united national approach. To support this process, the Cabinet has already appointed a high level committee tasked with conducting a complete review of all existing free trade agreements.
Once this review is completed, the committee will provide clear recommendations on the strategic direction, priorities and framework for future trade agreements, including the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement. Minister Samarasinghe said that based on the committee’s advice, the appointment of chief negotiators and the establishment of detailed negotiation structures will then be finalized. He added that this method will ensure Sri Lanka enters the next round of negotiations with clarity, purpose and a common national position.
Accordingly, the government intends to restart negotiations with bilateral trading partners, including India, based on the guidance of the committee. The irony is that the same government strongly opposed ETCA while in the opposition, making this shift both politically striking and strategically significant.
