Australia and New Zealand have pledged to back Sri Lanka’s bid to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said after concluding official visits to both countries.
Speaking from the Sri Lankan High Commission in Canberra, Herath said both governments — founding members of RCEP — expressed full support for Sri Lanka’s membership, NewsFirst reported. He did not disclose a timeline for accession negotiations or whether any reciprocal market-access concessions were tabled in exchange for the backing.
RCEP brings together 15 Asia-Pacific economies — the 10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) alongside Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China and South Korea — and covers close to half of the global population and a major share of world economic output. The pact entered into force in January 2022 and remains the world’s largest free trade agreement by membership scope.
Sri Lanka’s accession would open new market access for its apparel, tea, rubber and IT-services exports across the Asia-Pacific and tie its tariff schedule more closely to a Japan- and China-anchored regional framework. Joining RCEP would also extend Sri Lanka’s existing bilateral free-trade arrangements with India, Pakistan and Singapore into a multilateral mesh.
The pledge caps the Australia and New Zealand visit that also yielded Jetstar direct flights from August 2026 and a Port City Colombo investor roadshow in Melbourne.
Source: NewsFirst.
