Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government was on track to regaining the European Union’s GSP+ trade concessions by March 2017, if it continues with its current economic plan.
“We have only to resolve some technical issues to regain the status,” said Mr Wickremesinghe, after meeting with EU politicians in Brussels this week. Noting that he had received positive responses from his meetings, Mr Wickremesinghe said that further talks were set to take place with Sri Lanka’s foreign minister and president.
In a week with reportedly increased friction within the Sri Lankan government, after President Maithripala Sirisena spoke out against a financial corruption probe investigating former military commanders, Mr Wickremesinghe called for a unity. “It is high time we stopped talking and united for the sake of the country,” he added.
The trade concessions could prove key in bolstering Sri Lanka’s flagging economy, which is currently heavily indebted. “If Sri Lanka was able to increase its apparel exports by 300 percent, the country would not have become indebted to the world,” he said.
