COLOMBO, Aug 1: Sri Lanka signed a free trade agreement with Pakistan on Thursday, strengthening economic ties with the country that is one of island’s major military suppliers.

The agreement was signed after a meeting between Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Officials said the deal would help the island’s feeble economy, struggling to right itself after decades of civil war.

“It will give access to the strength of our exporters into Pakistan, and the exporters of Pakistan into Sri Lanka without harming any of our industries,” said Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

Bilateral trade totals only about $130 million a year.

Karunanayake, who signed the agreement with his Pakistan counterpart Abdul Razzaq Dawood, said he expected the pact to help garments and tea, Sri Lanka’s two biggest exports.

“The key areas for Sri Lanka exporters are tea, electronics, engineering and textiles. In textiles we got a major opportunity into the Pakistan market,” he said.

The Sri Lankan market for engineering, vehicles and some agricultural items such as fruit would be opened up to Pakistan producers, he said.—Reuters