Perhaps the staunchest supporter of the Indo-Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ILCEPA), Nawaz Rajabdeen, President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, says that India’s treatment of Sri Lankan travellers and investors is unfair and is a reason why ILCEPA is looked at with resentment. "Indians get their visas on arrival into Sri Lanka whereas we have now to apply 14 days before our departure to India. This kind of bureaucratic red tape must be dispensed with if any trade partnership is to be meaningful," Rajabdeen, who is also the Vice Chairman of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce, told the Island Financial Review. He said that this was just one of the many bottle necks delaying ILCEPA that India would have to address. "ILCEPA will open up the goods and services sectors of both countries but the people of both countries should be able to benefit from this, agreement not just the traders and professionals," Rajabdeen said. "There is no point in wanting to pursue a partnership agreement with us if ordinary citizens cannot enter India as easily as we allow them to enter Sri Lanka. Many of our people visit India on pilgrimage, for studies or on medical grounds and it is difficult for them to get visas." Rajabdeen said that if the Indians were concerned about screening Sri Lankans because of the LTTE threat, it did not hold because India too has its fair share of terrorist problems. "Applying for a visa to India is as difficult as applying for one to the US. Why should this be the case when India is our neighbour, especially when we have opened our doors to India?" Issuing visas on arrival to Indians is only limited to tourists and is issued for 30 days. Rajabdeen charges that there is nothing to prevent Indian businessmen from posing as tourists and have their passports stamped for about seven days which is ample time to conclude a business deal. A representative of an Indian real estate company was in Sri Lanka earlier this week promoting real estate in Mysore. He told the press that he was impressed with the visa on arrival and the services of the BOI. Research Officer of the Institute of Policy Studies, Deshal De Mel, told the Island Financial Review that Sri Lanka lacked the capacity to monitor the movements of Indians in Sri Lanka. "Using the 30 day tourist visa to conduct business in technically illegal, but we lack the technical capacity to monitor our visitors," he said. Rajabdeen also blamed India’s bureaucracy for causing problems to many Sri Lankan entrepreneurs who tried entering Indian markets through the FTA. "The Indians used, and continue to exploit the BOI to establish themselves here, but Sri Lanka is given no such assistance in India." He said the unfair treatment agitated many against ILCEPA. "India must not take undue advantage by restricting our people from visiting India and businesses from investing while enjoying benefits offered by Sri Lanka." "The foreign ministers of the SAARC countries should seriously address this issue because no regional integration can be fruitful if ordinary people cannot enjoy the benefits of such an arrangement while only the influential do," Rajabdeen said. |
