Ranil off to Brussels today

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will leave for the Belgian capital of Brussels today to re-negotiate the GSP plus with the European Union.

“I will be starting the negotiation on Monday to get Sri Lanka access to one of the important markets,” the Prime Minister said addressing the National Occupation Safety and excellence awards ceremony organized by the Ministry of Labour and Trade Union Relations last night.

The Prime Minister said he would talk to the European Union nations about the measures taken by Sri Lanka to ensure occupational safety. “I shall do this as occupational safety is one of the criteria which the European Union looks at when granting GSP plus status,” he also said.

He stressed the need for competitiveness of Sri Lankan exporters stating that it would be essential at a time Sri Lanka is negotiating trade pacts with a number of countries in the world.

The Prime Minister is expected to meet his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel and Prince Laurent as well as top officials of European Commission and European Union during his tour. (Yohan Perera)