These decisions of the Government of India, to provide duty free access of 8 million pieces and reduction of duty under SAFTA framework, have been welcomed both by the Government of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan industry represented by the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), as part of the steps taken by India to increase the export capacity of Sri Lanka and reducing the bilateral trade deficit. It may be recalled that India has also offered to collaborate with Sri Lanka in setting up a pharma cluster, a textile cluster and a Special Economic Zone in manufacturing by encouraging Indian investors. India has an abiding vision of a prosperous South Asia, in which all countries of the region grow together. This implies, on India's part, providing preferential and asymmetrical access to its markets, without demanding reciprocal concessions. The FTA, signed between India and Sri Lanka in 1998 and operationalized in 2000, was the harbinger of this approach based on asymmetrical obligations.
High Commission of India, Colombo