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Sunday, 04 September 2016

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TIFA discussions end on positive note

An inter-sessional meeting of the U.S.-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council meeting was held on September 1 in Colombo. The meeting was Co-Chaired by Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickrama and Assistant US Trade Representative (AUSTR) for South and Central Asia, Michael J. Delaney, representing the governments of Sri Lanka and the United States of America.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Atul Keshap and Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary for Global Markets and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service Arun M. Kumar delivered opening remarks, highlighting Sri Lanka government’s commitment to democracy, accountability, human rights and economic reform while noting that there was significant scope to expand on the existing trade and investment relationship where the United States is the number one destination for Sri Lankan exports.

Ambassador Keshap said that the United States, through a number of ongoing assistance programs, seeks to further strengthen the strong economic ties with Sri Lanka. AUSTR Delaney recalled USTR Ambassador Michael Froman’s remarks during the April 28 U.S.-Sri Lanka TIFA Council meeting, in which he noted that the concrete and specific initiatives developed within the TIFA will strengthen Sri Lanka’s trade and investment regime and mobilize more of the Sri Lankan population to participate in a trade oriented economy.

Minister Samarawickrama outlined the reforms that Sri Lanka is undertaking to improve the ease of doing business, facilitate greater exports, increase regional integration, attract foreign direct investment, and to support reconciliation.

He emphasized Sri Lanka’s interest in the establishment of preferential trade programs such as Qualifying Industrial Zone (QIZ), especially for the economic improvement of the Northern and Uva Provinces in the country.

At the conclusion of the April 28 TIFA Council meeting, a US-Sri Lanka Joint Action Plan to Increase External Trade and Investment was adopted. Both sides affirmed their belief that the bilateral trade and investment relationship has great potential that can be realized through adoption of enabling measures jointly incorporated in the Plan.

This Action Plan would be implemented through a five year period during which an Action Plan for the first year is already being finalized. “We also discussed removing obstacles to trade and investment.

“The two sides will work to finalize the implementation plan text in the coming weeks,” said the Joint Statement on the US-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Framework (TIFA) Inter-Sessional Meeting.

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