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| Saturday, 31 July 2004 |
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BIMST-EC leaders build momentum towards free trade from Shirajiv Sirimane in Thailand President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said forming a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among the seven member BIMST-EC region would be one of the priorities at the Summit which would be held today. She told the Daily News the proposed FTA would help increase trade between the seven countries (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan) and would also help build an even closer relationship. "This would lead to economic prosperity in the region," she said. Commenting on the six agreements signed between the two governments yesterday, she said steps had been taken for the speedy implementation of these agreements. "The treaty on mutual Legal assistance in criminal matters would be a very important area for Sri Lanka since there is an urgent need for crime prevention. Thailand is highly advanced in crime prevention and Sri Lanka could gain their knowledge in this area," the President said. Trade between Sri Lanka and Thailand is low and the trade balance too is strongly in favour of Thailand. "These agreements will also help increase trade between the two countries and Sri Lanka could also gain more," President Kumaratunga said. The President was also impressed with the Thai agriculture and fisheries sector and said the signing of the agreements would help transfer technology from Thailand to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan research on agriculture is very low and this area needs urgent attention. The President said scientists and experts in the field of agriculture from Thailand would be invited to Sri Lanka to introduce new technology for the agriculture sector for which the government is heavily committed. The President also called on Thai Prime Minister Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra at the Government House yesterday morning. Minister of Agriculture Anura Dissanayake and Minster of Fisheries Chandrasena Wijesinghe accompanied the President. Later, she visited the historic temple of the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace built in 1782. The President was given a guided tour of the temple. She was keen on obtaining first hand information of the huge statues and the colourful murals. Large crowds in the temple stopped and photographed the President. The President also greeted the crowds, specially the children with warm smiles. Her next visit was the Golden Buddha temple which is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the heaviest gold plated statue in the world. The Deputy Chief Abbot (monk) of the temple received the President and presented her 60 replicas of the version of the Golden Buddha. She also signed the visitors' book. |
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