Sri Lanka wanted to become the first South Asian country to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the largest trade bloc in history, following the completion of debt restructuring, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said recently taking part in events to celebrate the ASEAN Day in Colombo.
RCEP is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“We must join the RCEP.There is no reason not to join it,” he said.
The country will also enter into Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries after debt restructuring is complete, the President’s Media Division (PMD) announced on Thursday (10).
President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that he agrees with ASEAN’s vision for the Indo-Pacific region.Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka will work closely with the ASEAN nations in the coming years.
Sri Lanka has an FTA with Singapore and is holding discussions to sign one with Thailand next year, the President said.Sri Lanka also plans to sign trade agreements with India and Bangladesh, he said.Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka wants the Indian Ocean to be demilitarized, and thus its goals align with ASEAN.
