Delegation leaves for talks

By Jamila Najmuddin


A Sri Lankan delegation left for Brussels late last night in an attempt to renegotiate the GSP+ trade benefits and the discussions are scheduled to be held on May 20, Foreign Ministry sources told Daily Mirror online today

The Sri Lankan delegation consists of Foreign Secretary Romesh Jayasingha, Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundara, Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath and Attorney General Mohan Peiris.

The visit is the second to take place in months after the same delegation had visited Brussels in March this year to hold key discussions with the European Union in an attempt to regain the GSP+ which is facing suspension since August this year.

Meanwhile Lanka Business Online (LBO) qouted the EU envoy in Colombo as saying the European Union is likely to remain a lucrative market for Sri Lankan exporters with talks to extend a trade deal giving duty free access to Europe being positive.

"The European Union, I hope, I'm convinced, will continue to be a very lucrative market for Sri Lanka, generating profits and of course jobs not just this year, not just in the past, but very much in the future," Ambassador Bernard Savage said.  (Daily Mirror online)