Bilateral Trade: Sri Lanka
Debate between Lord Price and Lord Rogan(7 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Price
We believe that there are extensive opportunities to improve trade throughout the Commonwealth, and that is what our meeting next week is going to draw out. The Prime Minister has already announced working groups with Australia, New Zealand and India. We want to work with all 52 countries in the Commonwealth on how we can drive forward the best possible trading relationships. There are many ways that can be done. They can be unilateral arrangements; they can be EPAs or FTAs. We need to consider for each country what is in their best economic interests and those of the Commonwealth.
Lord Rogan (UUP)
My Lords, Sri Lanka had a torrid time with civil unrest for many years. Thankfully, those terrible times have ended. Does the Minister agree that trade with Sri Lanka, and improving the economy of that country, will strengthen and help cement that peace process?