SL Brexit committee meets next week

A committee appointed to review Brexit's impact on Sri Lanka and how the economy could move away from its dependency on Western markets are to meet later next week to explore opportunities before preparing a report, member of the committee Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy told the Sunday Observer.

The committee was appointed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and comprises economists of the likes of P.Paskaralingam, Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy, Dr. Saman Kelegama and former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran

"We will meet later this week or early in the third week of July to discuss how we may proceed," Dr. Coomaraswamy said. "We have been given three to four weeks to finalize a report which will be submitted to the Prime Minister." Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will then discuss the contents of the report with President Maithripala Sirisena and other stakeholders before tabling it in Parliament.

The committee will explore entering into country specific trade agreements with the UK whilst exploring new opportunities for trade and investments with Eastern countries.