Bangkok to host 2nd Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA talks

BANGKOK, September 18 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Commerce, will host the 2nd Thailand-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks in Bangkok later this week, aimed to accelerate the conclusion of their comprehensive bilateral FTA negotiations by 2020 as earlier agreed by their top leaders. Auramon Supthaweethum, Director General of the ministry's Department of Trade Negotiations, told journalists on Tuesday that the 2nd Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA negotiation will be held during September 19-21, with its discussions set to be continued from the 1st Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA negotiation, hosted by the Sri Lankan government in July 2018 when Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha was in Colombo for an official trip. Auramon stated that the upcoming Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA talks will cover the areas of trade in goods and services, as well as investment and economic cooperation between Bangkok and Colombo. According to the senior official, the upcoming Thailand-Sri Lanka bilateral FTA talks will be comprised of a meeting of the Trade Negotiating Committee of both sides and meetings of seven working groups on trade in goods (WG-TIG), trade in services (WG-TIS), the rule of origin (WG-ROO), sanitary and phytosanitary measures (WG-SPS), trade remedies (WG-TR), investment (WG-Investment) and legal information institute (WG-LII), to be participated by representatives of relevant agencies of both countries. The senior official said in 2020, when the Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA has been set to be concluded, bilateral trade and investment between the two allied countries have also been targeted to reach about 1.5 billion US dollars totally. Based on official statistics, Sri Lanka was Thailand's 4th largest trading partner in South Asia during the first seven months of this year, with the two-way trade standing at about 319.6 million US dollars, a 6.7 per cent year-on-year increase, and Thailand's exports and imports to the emerging but potential South Asian nation, where a regional marine hub and intercontinental transport networks have been set to be materialized in the coming years, were slated at 271.7 million US dollars and 47.9 million US dollars respectively. (TNA)