Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today that Sri Lanka hopes to regain the GSP+ concession from the European Union by end of this year.

Making a special statement on the lifting of the EU ban on fisheries exports, Wickremesinghe said that it was a collective effort by Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Mahinda Amaraweera and others which made it possible.

The formal application for the GSP+ will be handed over to Brussels in the coming weeks, Wickremesinghe said.

Furthermore, he said that informal discussions are now being conducted on the application.

The EU yesterday announced that the ban on fisheries exports from Sri Lanka will be completely lifted.