News
President seeks Macron’s help to retain GSP+
View(s):President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, during talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in India, has sought his assistance to retain the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade concession after the facility lapses at the end of the year.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the AI summit in New Delhi and held bilateral talks.
Mr Macron had assured that France would extend its fullest support for Sri Lanka to retain the GSP Plus facility and also pledged more concessions through its various trade agreements with Sri Lanka.
Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said the government plans to reapply for the GSP Plus facility ahead of its expiry in December this year.
The government had made its position known at the 27th session of the EU-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting held in Colombo earlier this month.
The discussion of the Joint Commission focused on Sri Lanka’s recent progress in the areas of democracy, good governance, rule of law and human rights-related matters, including the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), amendments to the Online Safety Act (OSA), rights of minorities, women, children and labour rights, steps taken to combat bribery and corruption and freedom of expression and association.
Minister Herath said the government is on track to repeal the PTA and other problematic legislation and replace them with legislation that conforms to international standards.
President Dissanayake and President Macron make a thumbs-up gesture
He said Sri Lanka has informed the EU on steps being taken towards advancing reconciliation and the strengthened role being played by independent national institutions, notably the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), the Office for Reparations (OR) and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation.
Meanwhile, President Dissanayake also discussed trade with Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who was here on Monday.
While thanking Britain for bringing Sri Lanka under the umbrella of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which grants preferential market access to 65 developing countries, including Sri Lanka, the President said the government was keen to retain this special facility in the future.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!