Free Trade Agreements may not take Sri Lanka far. Signing an FTA with India for instance means India has to absorb Sri Lanka’s exports. But Lanka’s export share to India is as low as five per cent of total exports and has not grown over the years. This is simply because the type of products exported are not the ones that India is capable of absorbing.

So a FTA will not necessarily work wonders in promoting Sri Lanka’s exports. Over the years, manufacturing exports from Sri Lanka have seen a significant decline. Even if the proposed FTAs generate demand, it’s doubtful whether the country can cater to this increased demand. The country could cater to this increased demand. Signing more FTAs to tackle the trade deficit would be like applying medicine to the head to heal a wound in the leg, only resulting in making matters worse.

Some FTAs may work, while some may not. Therefore, the best way forward is via unilateral and multilateral trade agreements. Around 60 per cent of women in Bangladesh’s apparel companies can't read or write. It takes around six months to train them, whereas in Sri Lanka, the same training takes only one and a half months.