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The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Business
India will soon start negotiations for free trade pacts with Thailand and Indonesia. The country has also managed to garner support from most Asean nations for securing bilateral pacts with Asean plus Six (which include China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, besides India).
With this Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has managed to give a major boost to Indias economic relations with its South East Asian neighbours. As he embarked on the last leg of his Asia tour to participate in the Asean Summit and the East Asia Summit in Hanoi, the commercial capital of Vietnam, he has managed to win many friends and hard sell India as a major investment destination.
Sources said India has started fast-track negotiations with the governments of Indonesia and Thailand to sign Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements. The government-level delegations from both sides will soon start bilateral talks and representatives will shortly meet in New Delhi.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) comprises Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, The Phillippines, Brunei and Indonesia. India has already signed a CECA with Singapore and agreements with Japan and Malaysia on completion of negotiations for bilateral trade pacts have been signed during this trip of the Prime Minister. By initiating a dialogue for similar pacts with Thailand and Malaysia, India is engaging five countries in the region in bilateral trade.
Vietnam, too, has a free market economy status, while Cambodia and Laos are being engaged to cooperate through the Mekong Ganga initiative.
The CEPA with Japan and CECA with Malaysia is a clear positive push to enhance Indias engagement in the region, said Latha Reddy, Secretary East, ministry of external affairs. This becomes very important as it now sets the ball rolling for India getting into the same league as early starters China, Korea and Japan, for signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership with East Asia (CEPEA) with the 10 Asean countries plus six. Even in the Asean plus Six, India now gets the support of Japan with the signing of the CEPA.
Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, said that signing of the CEPA with Japan will ensure that the trade between India and Japan zooms to $ 20 billion by 2015. While India stands to gain a market in Japan for the generic medicines and textiles, while Japan can now be able to invest in infrastructure and technology sector, he said.
India will soon start negotiations for free trade pacts with Thailand and Indonesia. The country has also managed to garner support from most Asean nations for securing bilateral pacts with Asean plus Six (which include China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, besides India).
With this Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has managed to give a major boost to Indias economic relations with its South East Asian neighbours. As he embarked on the last leg of his Asia tour to participate in the Asean Summit and the East Asia Summit in Hanoi, the commercial capital of Vietnam, he has managed to win many friends and hard sell India as a major investment destination.
Sources said India has started fast-track negotiations with the governments of Indonesia and Thailand to sign Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements. The government-level delegations from both sides will soon start bilateral talks and representatives will shortly meet in New Delhi.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) comprises Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, The Phillippines, Brunei and Indonesia. India has already signed a CECA with Singapore and agreements with Japan and Malaysia on completion of negotiations for bilateral trade pacts have been signed during this trip of the Prime Minister. By initiating a dialogue for similar pacts with Thailand and Malaysia, India is engaging five countries in the region in bilateral trade.
Vietnam, too, has a free market economy status, while Cambodia and Laos are being engaged to cooperate through the Mekong Ganga initiative.
The CEPA with Japan and CECA with Malaysia is a clear positive push to enhance Indias engagement in the region, said Latha Reddy, Secretary East, ministry of external affairs. This becomes very important as it now sets the ball rolling for India getting into the same league as early starters China, Korea and Japan, for signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership with East Asia (CEPEA) with the 10 Asean countries plus six. Even in the Asean plus Six, India now gets the support of Japan with the signing of the CEPA.
Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, said that signing of the CEPA with Japan will ensure that the trade between India and Japan zooms to $ 20 billion by 2015. While India stands to gain a market in Japan for the generic medicines and textiles, while Japan can now be able to invest in infrastructure and technology sector, he said.
