Colombo: The two-year-old Indo-Sri Lankan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will come up for review this week at a joint ministerial committee meeting in New Delhi on June 6 and 7 between delegations led by the Commerce Ministers of the two countries.

Sri Lanka wants several provisions in the FTA to be "re-negotiated" to enhance its export opportunities to India and reduce the wide trade gap between the neighbouring nations.

It will be the first such meeting since the agreement was signed in March 2000.

Sri Lankan Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who will head his country's delegation, will seek the inclusion of "trade in services" like shipping, freight forwarding and information technology in the FTA, the official 'Daily News' said on June 3.

He would also raise issues related to export of tea and garments to India and ask for enhancing the number of ports where Sri Lankan goods could land in India, it said.

Officials say the trade gap in India's favour for 2001 was $ 533.40 million, with Indian exports to Sri Lanka amounting to $ 604.20 million, and Sri Lanka's exports being worth $ 70.8 million.

This trade imbalance is often cited by detractors of the FTA in Sri Lanka to run down the agreement, and the exercise to review it may address issues and provisions that lead to such criticism. However, officials say the trade gap has actually come down in 2001 from the 2000 figure of $ 542 million.

PTI