Indian minister sees ASEAN free trade deal in months
AFP
Indian minister sees ASEAN free trade deal in months
4 April 2008
SINGAPORE (AFP) - India is hoping to conclude a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations within three months, the country’s minister of commerce and industry said Friday.
Kamal Nath said only a "few things" still needed to be sorted out before a deal is reached with the 10-member ASEAN.
"Otherwise all the other major roadblocks have been solved," he told a news conference in Singapore, which currently holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship. "We are hoping to conclude our agreement... with ASEAN in the next three months."
Negotiations had been held up because of differences over a list of products India wanted to exclude from tariff cuts. New Delhi had submitted a list of 1,414 products, while ASEAN’s target number was 400.
At their annual summit in Singapore last November, ASEAN officials said the grouping would not resume negotiations with India until it came up with a better offer.
India, which adopted a free market economy in the early 1990s, has been keen to expand trade ties with ASEAN but wanted to protect sensitive sectors such as agriculture and textiles, which provide livelihoods for millions.
"The real issue with all the countries is solved," Nath said, but added that "some issues" remained with Indonesia.
Nath was speaking after a panel discussion about his book "India’s Century".
