Many Sri Lankan products can be exported to India, Pakistan duty-free

Sri Lanka's Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade agreement and the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Agreement allow more than 8000 products to be exported to these two markets on zero duty basis, said the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Rishad Bathiudeen addressing a media briefing at the Hilton Hotel Colombo last week in connection with the SAARC Trade Fair and Investment Forum 2017 to be held in Colombo on September 7-9 in Colombo.

The Minister said the major issue facing SAARC nations was the brain drain where skills flow out of countries due to low investment and lack of joint cooperation among countries failing to foreign investments to the region.

Collaboration was necessary instead of competition to bring about better returns and a better understanding among all SAARC countries where trade is less than 6 per cent.

Lack of investment and integration in South Asia is the main reason for it.

"The other disadvantage was in obtaining visas to visit SAARC coun- tries and this has to be worked out with all SAARC countries in the region."

The SAARC Trade Fair and Investment Forum in which 115 foreign and local investors and entrepreneurs, fund managers and CO will participate, will showcase business opportunities for renewable energy, tourism, real estate and manufacturing, etc.

Several delegates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected to attend the conference. The event has been organized by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industries Sri Lanka (FCCISL) .

President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Nepal, Suraj Vaidya said the next growth phase is in South Asia where 1.7 billion people live.

He said SAARC is an extremely complex and difficult regional body falling on smaller countries to show the way to achieve bigger things as the region moves forward.