Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Oct 27, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Oct 27, 2005 |
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Foreign Trade Industry & Economy - Foreign Trade From Asean to the Gulf: India plans FTAs by 2006 Our Bureau
New Delhi , Oct. 26 BY the close of 2006, India plans to have free trade agreements (FTAs) with all the neighbouring countries beginning with the Asean and stretching to the Gulf countries. Instructions to this effect have been given by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, who has told his Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) that "our neighbours should have a greater stake in our economic growth and should benefit from it." However, an FTA with China is not on the agenda. About the countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Dr Singh categorically said, "India should be prepared to buy more." All the SAARC countries have a negative balance of trade with India. Commitment to SAFTA: Addressing a meeting of the TERC on Tuesday, the Prime Minister is understood to have reiterated India's commitment to SAFTA (SAARC Area Free Trade Agreement), which is scheduled to come into being from January 1, 2006. According to Dr Sanjaya Baru, Media Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr Singh has instructed the Commerce Ministry to make sure that SAFTA was on track, so that it could be taken up at the SAARC summit in Dhaka next month. Indo-Asean FTA: Similar instructions have been given to the Commerce Ministry to address all issues ahead of the Indo-Asean December meeting so that an Indo-Asean FTA was ready for signing by that time. "There are many glitches in the FTA relating to rules of origin, sensitive list of imports, and so on. The Prime Minister has instructed that all these issues be resolved quickly," Dr Baru said. Other FTAs: India also proposes to have an Indo-Asean-type FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council for which talks have begun. On the anvil are FTAs with South Korea and Israel, economic engagement with BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries and a proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Programme Agreement with Mauritius. India is also working on a unilateral tariff preference scheme for least developed countries in Africa.
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