COLUMBO, The signing of the Sri Lanka - Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is considered a success, expected to boost trade between the two countries. During the visit to Sri Lanka, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, and Sri Lanka's Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security, Nalin Fernando on Saturday signed the Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA. The Thai Prime Minister and the Sri Lankan President also acted as witnesses, marking the first FTA under this government. Currently, Thailand has FTAs ??with a total of 19 countries. The key points of the Thai-Sri Lanka FTA open up more than 85% of the total traded goods market. This involves gradually reducing or exempting taxes over 16 years and immediately exempting of tariffs on over 4,000 items, including automobiles and parts, fertilizers, synthetic leather, chemicals, paper, electrical appliances, canned sardines, canned salmon, animal feed, frozen shrimp and live. cattle. In the service sector, Sri Lanka allows Thailand to hold up to 100 % stake in 50 sub-sectors, including hotel and restaurant services, maritime transport, agents and insurance brokers, franchises, telecommunications, environmental services, advertising, and management consulting. Regarding investment, Sri Lanka permits Thai investors to hold 100% of shares in 35 sectors, including food processing, textiles, automotive manufacturing, electronic equipment manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and medical device manufacturing. Source: Thai News Agency