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| Sunday, 26 January 2003 |
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Huge potential for Lanka - Latvia trade by indunil thenuwara Sri Lanka is expected to enter a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan while another agreement with Bangladesh is also envisaged. The existing FTA with India will provide a platform for Latvia to enter the huge Indian market, Renton de Alwis, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) told a visiting Latvian trade delegation last week. Latvia accounted for only one per cent of Sri Lanka's total trade with the CIS countries in 2001. Russia is Sri Lanka's main trading partner in the region, accounting for 96 per cent of trade, while Lithuania and Belarus account for two and one per cent respectively. "This shows the immense potential for developing trade between Sri Lanka and Latvia," de Alwis told the 18-member delegation headed by former Latvian Prime Minister Andris Berzins. This was the second trade delegation from this European country to Sri Lanka. Tea, desiccated coconut, tyres and tubes, ceramic products, food, beverages and tobacco, crepe rubber and garments are Sri Lanka's main exports to the CIS while black tea, coconut products, plastic, steel products, hats and headgear are among its main exports to Latvia. Imports from Latvia include floor polishers, antennas and electrical apparatus. About 2000 tourists from Latvia also visited Sri Lanka. The total exports from the island in 2001 were worth about US$ 1.3 million while total imports were worth only three to five per cent of this amount. There is potential to increase Sri Lanka's exports of food and vegetables, minerals, chemicals and apparels while Latvia can step up its exports of chemicals and allied products, wood, textiles, base metal articles and tourism, said de Alwis, who described Sri Lanka as one of the safest tourist destinations in the world at the moment. Thomas F. Daetwyler, Honorary Consul for Latvia in Sri Lanka described his country as one of the fastest growing economies in Europe with a stable national currency, the Lat, and a low rate of inflation. It has been preparing for membership in the European Union and the NATO for a number of years and received an invitation to join NATO during the Prague Summit last November and a confirmation that it will be allowed into the EU in 2004, a few weeks later. "Through membership in these two bodies, an increasingly dynamic and prosperous Latvia will be able to strengthen its ties with Sri Lanka and its people," he said. Meetings between the delegates and their local counterparts were organised by the CCC. De Alwis called on the delegates to seek the possibility of setting up a bilateral council between the two countries. |
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