Thailand PM launches FTA roadshow in India
Zee News, India
Thailand PM launches FTA roadshow in India
Bureau Report
26 June 2007
New Delhi, June 26: Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Tuesday announced launching of an FTA roadshow aimed at speeding up a free trade agreement between India and Thailand, for which fresh negotiations will begin next month.
"Our two countries are on track to conclude a free trade agreement in the near future with a view to establishing the FTA covering trade in goods by 2010," Chulanont said at a meeting of apex business chambers here.
Immediately after his visit, Thailand’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sawanit Kongsiri will lead a group of prominent Thai investors on a roadshow to major Indian cities to look into the business opportunities arising out of the free trade pact.
Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told reporters negotiations on the FTA in goods would commence in July and an agreement is likely to be signed by September.
"The two sides have also agreed to start parallel negotiations on services and investment parts of the FTA," Nath said.
He clarified that no agreement regarding the FTA would be signed during the three-day visit of Chulanont, who arrived here last night.
While tariffs on 82 products have already been eliminated under the early harvest scheme for FTA in 2004, the pact could not progress as per the original timeline since there were differences on a number of items, sources said.
In his address to business leaders, Chulanont invited Indian investments in IT and pharmaceutical sectors. He said in the regional context, mutual partnership has been strengthened through frameworks such as Asean-India dialogue, Bimstec, Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, Asia Cooperation dialogue and East Asia summit.
