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Lankan experts decry bilateral pact with India

Leading economists and politicians of Sri Lanka have taken a critical view of the free trade agreement between India and Sri Lanka signed in New Delhi yesterday.

They said the contents of an agreement of this nature should have been discussed in detail before arriving at a final decision.

''To rush through such an omnibus agreement will not be in the interests of Sri Lanka as it involves the whole gamut of Indo-Lanka trade and perhaps investments as well as finance,'' the Island newspaper of Colombo said in its editorial today.

As the agreement needed more study because of the issues involved, it would have been much better for President Chandrika Kumaratunga to put off signing the agreement pending further considerations. The agreement has not been discussed in public or even read by officials who should have been in the know, it pointed out.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted to know whether it was an agreement or a memorandum of understanding. Since there were no details available to him, he cannot really make any comment, he added.

A distinguished economist J B Kelegama said that such an agreement is unlikely to boost the country's exports to India while there would be a flood of Indian exports to the country.

Kelegama, after comparing the alleged imbalance of the trade, said it was vastly in favour of India and imports to the country, particularly in agricultural products, will wipe out the local farmers.

"If India is going to lift import restrictions on 2000 products and if these products include majority of items of export interest to Sri Lanka, isn't the fast track trade superfluous?" he asked.

"Secondly, even if the agreement removes barriers not pledged in removing restrictions on the 2000 items, would there be a marked increase of Lankan exports to India?" he questioned.

UNI

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