“Proposed BIMSTEC FTA Needs to be More Comprehensive in its Coverage of Trade”

14 – 15 June 2018
Yangon, Myanmar

IPS Research Fellow, Janaka Wijayasiri, argued that the long overdue BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) should offer more opportunities than what Sri Lanka already obtains through existing FTAs in the region if the agreement is to be of relevance to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has some market access to India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal through its bilateral and regional FTAs.

Dr. Wijayasiri made these remarks while speaking at the session on ‘Trade and Economic Integration’ at a Regional Conference on Advancing BIMSTEC Cooperation, organised by the Delhi Policy Group (DPG) and The Asia Foundation, Yangon on 14 – 15 June 2018. The conferences assessed the achievements of the BIMSTEC besides addressing the challenges that the initiative faces. Experts brainstormed and recommend a two-year plan of action which will be shared with Track 1.5 and Track 1 level officials in the BIMSTEC region.