Colombo : Sweden has pledged its maximum support to Sri Lanka to ensure the European Union’s trade concession Generalized Scheme of Preferences plus (GSP+) is restored.
The visiting Foreign Minister of Sweden, Margot Wallstrom, has during a meeting assured Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena to provide her government’s every possible assistance to regain the GSP+ facility, reports Lankan Page.
Citing Sri Lanka’s failure to meet human rights conventions relevant for benefits under the scheme, the European Union had in August 2010 suspended the GSP+ tariff concession for Colombo that provided tax free access to European markets for the country’s products, especially for garment exports.
During the meeting with the President at the Presidential Secretariat on Monday, Wallstrom discussed in detail the ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
President Sirisena took this opportunity to thank the Government of Sweden for the assistance given so far for the development projects in Sri Lanka.
The Swedish Foreign Minister commended the government’s program to fulfill its responsibilities during the post conflict period by ensuring the democracy and freedom of the people in Sri Lanka. (ANI)