European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka David Daly said the EU is seriously reevaluating Sri Lanka’s request to grant the GSP+ concession once again for its exports to EU and to lift the restrictions imposed on export of fish products.

EU ambassador called on President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday (31) and congratulated him on his electoral victory. He expressed deep appreciation over the new government’s policies on improving human rights and strengthening democratic institutions.

Daly explained that the legal processes regarding GSP+ and fisheries exports were slow, as the EU has to go through a rigorous evaluation process before taking the final decision. However, he acknowledged that the strong political weight thrown up by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe on these issues would be useful to speed up the process.

He said a team of senior EU officials visited Sri Lanka for trade discussions and another team would shortly visit for joint committee meetings.

President Maithripala Sirisena thanked the EU for the support given to Sri Lanka in the past and expressed hope that the cooperation between the EU and Sri Lanka would be strengthened in the coming years. He said that his government is determined to rectify past shortcomings and move forward to strengthen relations between Sri Lanka and EU.

Sri Lanka had lost considerable revenue on apparel exports over the past few years because of losing GSP plus. Recovery of GSP Plus would be a great step forward for Sri Lanka competitive apparel sector and its global image.