Sri Lanka starts talks to join OACPS with potential EU FTA

Sri Lanka’s Presidential Envoy to Europe and the Commonwealth Niranjan de Silva Deva Aditya (Nirj Deva) said this week in Brussels that he has started discussions for Sri Lanka to join the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS). 

“The Maldives’ more advanced application to join the OACPS should be looked at alongside Sri Lanka’s application,” he said. 

Nirj Deva, the former EU Parliamentarian and Vice President of the EU Parliament’s Development Committee for 15 years, called on the EU and the Sri Lankan Government to work together to boost ties between the two parties. 

A former British MP and MEP for 25 years, Nirj Deva also made a strong appeal to the European Parliament to assist Sri Lanka at this critical juncture. 

“I have also started talking to the European Parliament (EU) about an expanded GSP+ that would include the five extra requirements that the EU wants. Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium and the EU, Grace Asirwatham is doing a great job on this, even though she works alone in the Sri Lanka Embassy to our second largest trading partner,” he added.

Some of these requirements are taking part in the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), protecting people with disabilities, getting rid of the death penalty, and making it legal for adults to be LGBT. 

As a consequence of these discussions, a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) should and could be reached with the EU to coincide with the EU-India FTA, which has not yet been made public. Nirj Deva stated. 

He said that joining the OACPS has substantial environmental, social, and economic benefits for the country, as it seeks to strengthen ties between the island nation and African and Caribbean states. Also, if Sri Lanka joins, it will have a better chance of receiving assistance from other organisations, such as the EU. 

Formerly known as the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States or ACP, OACPS was established in 1975 via the Georgetown Agreement. The organisation’s primary goals are sustainable development and poverty reduction among its member nations. 

It consists of 79 African, Caribbean, and Pacific governments, all of which, save Cuba, are parties to the Cotonou Agreement, commonly known as the “ACP-EC Partnership Agreement”. There are 48 Sub-Saharan African nations, 16 Caribbean, and 15 Pacific.

During the discussions, Nirj Deva presented the Sri Lankan President’s report on the effects of a potential global famine and a lack of food and fertiliser on Sri Lanka to 64 of Parliament’s senior MPs, as well as measures to expand trade and investment with Sri Lanka. 

To qualify for substantial funding from the UN Green Climate Fund and EU funds, Sri Lanka should request the EU to temporarily classify it as a low-income nation. “Whereas middle or lower middle-income country status, which Sri Lanka attained when her GDP was nearly Rs. 14 trillion and the dollar was Rs. 170, is now unsupportable when the economy has contracted to less than Rs. 11 trillion and the dollar has shot up to nearly Rs. 360. 

“A strong case should be made to temporarily assign Sri Lanka to Low Income Country (LIC) status when she can qualify for huge amounts of free grants and cheap concessionary loans (banned for middle income countries) including the EU’s Anything but Arms (EBA) free trade agreements which exist for LIC including Bangladesh. 

“It is ridiculous for us to borrow money from Bangladesh on the one hand and pretend to be a richer middle-income country on the other. We should seek temporary LIC status until the financial crisis is over. This is an urgent application that needs to be made to the World Bank and OECD. Our Sri Lankan elites are constantly lotus eating living on 2,000-year-old glories while begging for money from foreigners to eat and pretending not to do so. 

“We must face reality and accept our fate, which in part is our own doing and which in part is due to external reasons like COVID, Ukraine war, climate change, floods and drought with dignity and courage, “ he said. 

Nirj Deva stated: “I also met with the Vulnerable Small Island States’ designate Chairman to see whether Sri Lanka may qualify for membership and have access to the Special Climate Funds.” Climate change has generated rain, floods, increasing sea levels, and monsoon changes. 

As part of a plan to improve trade and cooperation between the EU and Sri Lanka, the EU will look into how it can help Sri Lanka build a fishing fleet.

Over 200 other participants took part in these discussions, from 24 to 27 October in the European Parliament in Brussels and the surrounding areas.