He said the government aims move the country forward by entering into bilateral agreements with several countries including China, India and Singapore.
"We plan to work towards regaining GSP Plus in the same manner and are in the process of assuring the international community that Sri Lanka abides by norms and standards expected of a democratic nation. We plan to enter into several bilateral agreements that will empower the economy and drive the country forward," he said in a statement.
He further said that his government was in the final stages of formulating the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India and was also reviewing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China.
Additionally the government is looking at entering into such partnerships with Singapore, Turkey, USA and Pakistan, the PM said.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe commending the decision taken by the EU as an endorsement for the new government’s policies on working cordially with regional countries, fulfilling treaties and agreements, and the emphasis on accountability, said the government is currently in discussions with the EU and are confident to regain the GSP plus trade concessions this year.
The Prime Minister noted that the main reason the ban was imposed on Sri Lanka is that the Rajapaksa regime failed to honour international treaties and agreements. Instead, the previous government facilitated illegal fishing activities resulting in the country being disconnected regionally and internationally, the statement noted.
He said the previous government was warned by the opposition members in parliament about the consequences on several occasions. However the previous administration disregarded the warnings and advices and the short sighted decisions taken by the previous government only resulted in country losing large foreign exchange revenue.
According to the Prime Minister, EU's fish ban on Sri Lanka, resulted in a colossal loss of valued foreign exchange to the country and also the country lost the EU's GSP Plus facility, which saw a considerable number of garment factories close down and thousands losing their jobs.
The GSP plus facility was withdrawn from Sri Lanka in 2010 when Mahinda Rajapaksa was president as the country failed to meet EU conditions on human rights issues.
He said the time has come for Sri Lanka to be once again an economic hub and the government aims to create and sustain a dynamic and thriving economic hub that would generate thousands of jobs.
"Our end goal is the creation and sustenance of a dynamic and thriving economic hub that will generate thousands of jobs," he said.
