INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Indonesia is seeking to sign its trade pact with Sri Lanka by next March while hoping that one year of negotiations is enough to close the
deal.It has only been a few weeks since Indonesia and Sri Lanka agreed to formally discuss the preferential trade agreement (PTA)
The first round of negotiations already took place virtually earlier this week, which zeroed in on the work plan and draft agreement text
conclude the negotiations by end-2024
scheduled to take place in Colombo on June 19-20
Minister Jerry Sambuaga said the PTA would become a building block to a free trade agreement (FTA)
Unlike the PTA whose scope is still limited, an FTA is more ambitious in nature and usually aims to remove the tariffs across all or most
better access to the Sri Lankan market.Indonesia-Sri Lanka trade was valued at $369.7 million throughout 2023
About $326.6 million of the trade figures were Indonesian exports to Sri Lanka
In January 2024 alone, the bilateral trade amounted to $23.5 million.Indonesia mainly exports copra, petroleum, paper, cartons, tobacco, as
well as coal to Sri Lanka
