Sri Lanka & Bangladesh look east

The shifting sands of the South Asian trade landscape may be worthy of some serious reflection for India's regional trade strategy

Earlier this month, a senior government official in Sri Lanka stated that their application for membership to the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) was awaiting approval and that they were in discussion with the RCEP members as they evolved an accession mechanism for new members. Sri Lanka had formally conveyed its intent to join the 15-member mega-regional trade agreement in 2023. In addition, Sri Lanka signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Thailand in February this year. Clearly, the island economy is working on a growth strategy that emphasises outward orientation and integration with the East Asian regional/global value chain (RVC/GVC)