The bilateral deal is Sri Lanka’s first modern and comprehensive free trade agreement
Negotiations on the agreement were launched by Minister of Trade and Industry S Iswaran and his counterpart Minister for Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama, in the presence of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, on 18 July 2016.
The agreement was subsequently signed on 23 January 2018.
Mr Iswaran said, “Bilateral relations between Singapore and Sri Lanka have reached a new milestone with the implementation of the Sri Lanka Singapore FTA. This agreement provides another avenue for Singapore companies to internationalise, grow their business and find new partnerships in the Sri Lankan market. Sri Lanka can also be a base for our companies to venture into the larger South Asia market. I urge more Singapore companies to tap on the SLSFTA and take advantage of the opportunities in Sri Lanka.”
The SLSFTA is Sri Lanka’s first modern and comprehensive free trade agreement and will cover areas such as trade in Services, E-Commerce, Telecommunications, Investments, Intellectual Property and Government Procurement.
Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore
