ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to finalise a draft Indonesia-Sri Lanka Preferential Trade Agreement (ISLPTA) in December 2024, to be signed in March 2025.
A statement from the Government Information Department said on Tuesday August 06 that, consequent to the second trade discussion committee meeting on the proposed agreement was held on 15 and 16 July in Colombo, the cabinet has considered the matters pertaining to the agreement presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe has proposed that the draft ISLPTA be finalised in December. Both parties have agreed to sign the agreement in March 2025, the statement said.
In July, Sri Lanka’s private sector trade body was in negotiations with Indonesian officials on a preferential trade agreement, which it hoped would increase exports to the Southeast Asian archipelago.
At the first round of negotiations of the Sri Lanka Indonesia PTA, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce were in discussions to “augment SL exports to Indonesia. In addition to knitted fabrics & chemical compounds currently exported, export of processed foods & machinery was proposed,” the Chamber said on X (twitter).
The trade body said there was “potential to export spices, plastics, rubber, etc,” after it recently hosted a delegation led by Ambassador of Indonesia Dewi Gustina Tobing.
In addition to the Sri Lanka Indonesia preferential trade agreement, the upcoming INSACA Business Forum 2024 in Indonesia was also discussed at the meeting.
Last year, Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers approved discussions with Indonesia to sign a preferential trade agreement.
“Indonesia is one of the largest economies in Southeast Asia,” Minister Bandula Gunawardana said at the time. It is the fourth most populous country in the world.
Currently, Indonesia is the 37th export destination for Sri Lankan goods according to the island’s Export Development Board. Indonesia is the 8th import origin for Sri Lanka.
“The total export value from Sri Lanka to Indonesia was USD 49.01 Mn in 2023 and total imports from Indonesia to Sri Lanka for the same period were USD 375.51 Mn.”
Sri Lanka’s exports to Indonesia had increased by a minute 0.22 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, while imports from Indonesia had increased by 12.19 percent. (Colombo/Aug06/2024)