February 23, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka will get an update on the GSP+ trade concessions at a Joint Commission meeting with the European Union, the Foreign Ministry said.
Three working groups on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Trade and Economic Cooperation, Development Cooperation will report to the Joint Commission.
“The European Union will also brief on the current developments in the EU including an update on new GSP Regulation and the new cycle of the EU GSP+ concessions,” the statement said.
The 26th session of the Joint Commission between Sri Lanka and the European Union will be convened on 22 February 2024 in Brussels.
The meeting will be co-chaired by Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Aruni Wijewardane and EU European External Action Service Deputy Managing Director for Asia Pacific Paola Pampaloni.
Sri Lanka delegation to the Joint Commission will comprise senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attorney General’s Department and Ministry of Finance.
The EU- Sri Lanka Joint Commission serves as a platform for dialogue and cooperation between Sri Lanka and the European Union, covering a broad range of bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest inter alia trade and investments, development assistance, fisheries, education, counterterrorism, governance and human rights, Indo-pacific & maritime security and environment.
The outcome of the three Working Groups which reports to the Joint Commission, Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Trade and Economic Cooperation, Development Cooperation will be presented to the Joint Commission.
The European Union will also brief on the current developments in the EU including an update on new GSP Regulation and the new cycle of the EU GSP+ concessions.
The previous session of the Joint Commission meeting was held in May 2023 in Colombo
Among the matters to be discussed are; economic and trade policy developments, bilateral market access issues, new GSP Regulation for 2024-2034 and trade related assistance.
The EU side acknowledged the progress made by Sri Lanka towards economic stability and attempts made to expand trade with the EU, and requested further cooperation and engagement in reviewing policy directives.
The EU side also highlighted the features of the new GSP Scheme which will come into effect from the year 2024. Sri Lanka is an applicant to the GSP Plus facility under the new Scheme which will enable Sri Lankan exporters to export more than 7000 products under zero duty to EU member countries for the next ten years.
Currently, the EU is the second largest export market for Sri Lanka with a value of US$ 3 Billion in the year 2022. Apparel exports dominate the export basket with a 54% share of exports in 2022. The other key export products are pneumatic tyres, tea, articles of apparel, tobacco and liquid coconut milk
