Category: General Services

May 02 (LBO) – Indo-Lanka trade talks hit a roadblock last week with dialogue on trade in goods shelved for later this month, though talks on services made headway. “We could not complete the talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) as scheduled. We were able to hold discussions on financial services and other […]

May 02 (LBO) – A tariff cut of up to 70 percent on imports from India under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement has been pushed back due to legislative delays. The tariff changes are currently in Parliament and there has been a delay in getting it approved but it is purely a procedural delay, Lal […]

DHAKA, April 27, 2006 (AFP) – Health ministers from seven South Asian nations have decided to develop a common strategy to combat bird-flu in the region, a statement said Thursday.The health ministers said after their meeting in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Wednesday that “an impending pandemic influenza” posed a threat to the region’s 1.40 billion […]

GENEVA, Apr. 25 (AFP) – The spectre of failure has returned to haunt the World Trade Organisation, as negotiators prove unable to maintain momentum in the Doha Round talks and developing countries warn that no deal is better than a bad deal.The 149-nation WTO has acknowledged that it will miss an April 30 deadline for […]

Apr.24 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to ask for more shipments of clothes, edible oils and fewer limits on country of rules origins on exports of key items to India, when both nations meet for trade talks tomorrow, officials said. Four days of trade talks between the two nations under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement […]

DHAKA, April 21, 2006 (AFP) – South Asian nations have agreed to include services in the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) in a bid to boost regional economic integration, a report said Friday.The decision came at a meeting of South Asian trade ministers in Dhaka that ended Thursday on the free trade pact which […]

DHAKA, Apr.20 (AFP) – The trade ministers of seven South Asian nations said Thursday they had “fruitful” discussions on barriers still impeding a planned regional free trade area.Fruitful discussions were held in a very cordial atmosphere; the implementation of the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) is now our prime task,” Bangladesh Trade Minister Altaf […]

Apr. 05 (LBO) – India has slapped a countervailing duty of between US$28-32 per metric tonne on vanaspati oil shipments from Sri Lanka, raising the stakes in a trade dispute that has been simmering for several months. -Mel Gunasekera: mel@ Imposed through the recent Indian budget, the levy comes at a crucial time, as both […]

Apr.03 (PTI) – The BBC today announced a re-broadcasting deal with Sri Lanka’s state-run radio and said it was looking for possible joint ventures for Hindi and Urdu service channels in India. Sri Lanka’s SLBC radio will re-broadcast nine hours of BBC programing under the new deal, BBC World Service business development manager Michel Lobelle […]

Apr. 03 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will take up thorny issues like shipments of pepper and vanaspati oil to India, when both sides meet for trade talks in Colombo this month, an official said Monday. Four days of trade talks between the two nations under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or CEPA are due to […]

Apr.03 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas Holdings Ltd Monday announced the appointment of Lalith de Mel as the group’s chairman. Husein Esufally will continue to lead as Chief Executive Officer of the family owned conglomerate. De Mel has served on the Hemas Board since 2003 and has been closely involved in its transformation as a […]

Mar. 27 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may impose a cess of up to 10 percent on imports to plug a loss in tax revenues, when import tariffs are lowered in April under the Indo-Lanka free trade deal.“Cesses will be used in the future to mitigate the negative impact of the increased preference for imports from […]