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After three years of strenuous talks, negotiations for the free trade agreement between Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India were finally concluded on August 7.
ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said the "last-mile" talks, held today, managed to resolve several contentious issues that had been been holding back the two from reaching an agreement. "I have been just informed that ASEAN and India have concluded talks on FTA this morning. This will open tremendous synergies between India's one billion population and our 567 million people," he said.
Surin said he was happy the deadlock over the issue of agriculture products from ASEAN members, which had hindered the success of the talks, had been finally solved. "The FTA with India is ASEAN fourth with a dialogue partner, following Japan, China and South Korea."
ASEAN's Senior Economic Officials (SEOM) met their counterparts from India during the ASEAN-India Consultations being held during the 4th Meeting of the 39th SEOM in Brunei.
Surin said the FTA with India would offer vast business potential for both the world's largest democracy and the 10-member regional grouping which aimed to create its own European Union-style single market or ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.
Trade between India and ASEAN reached nearly US$20 billion last year and is expected to grow to $30 billion by 2010. ASEAN and India had signed a framework agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation in October 2003, and negotiations were supposed to be concluded by June 2006.
The trade pact was initially scheduled to be effective on January 1, 2007 but differences over agriculture products remained unresolved until this meeting. (Source: Bernama)
August 8, 2008
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