Sri Lanka, China to finalize free trade deal

Sri Lanka, China to finalize free trade deal

Sri Lanka and China will finalise a free-trade agreement before Commonwealth summit in Colombo in November 2013,The two sides have been hammering out details of the duty-free goods under the deal, Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena Said.

China has been investing heavily in Sri Lanka, with loans and expertise instrumental in building ports, highways, railways and power plants in the Indian Ocean nation.

"We are discussing the agreement right now, and we hope to be able to finalise it before the Commonwealth meeting," Abeywardena said, adding that a Chinese delegation had been in the Sri Lankan capital recently to discuss the deal.

Sri Lanka will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting from Nov 15-17.