India, Thailand agree to speed up FTA finalisation.

THAILAND AND INDIA have agreed to accelerate finalisation of their bilateral trade agreement after negotiations have dragged on for 12 years, with both countries now being more concerned with mutual benefits rather than gains at the expense of the other side.

After joining the 30th round of talks in New Delhi last Wednesday and Thursday, Sirinart Chaimun, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said she and her counterpart Ravi Capoor, deputy permanent secretary of the Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry, agreed that the Thai-Indian Free Trade Agreement should be finalised soon.

"Thailand and India [agreed] that we will be concerned more with win-win benefits rather than losses as in past negotiations so that this FTA can move forward and be implemented in the near future to promote trade, investment, and closer cooperation between the two sides," she said.

During the meeting, Thailand asked India to provide additional market access for the Kingdom's rubber, rice and chemical products, while India asked Thailand to allow computer engineers from India to work in the Kingdom.

They also agreed to adjust their rules of origins to facilitate trade flows, and to discuss sanitary, phytosanitary and technical trade barriers in order to avoid disputes. The Thai-Indian FTA talks have stalled over disagreements on details of the liberalisation of trade in goods, services and investment.

If the pact is finalised, many Thai enterprises could expand in India.

Thailand could be a logistics centre and gateway for India to connect with other Asean countries as well as the main East Asian nations - China, Japan and South Korea.

India is Thailand's 15th-largest trading partner and No 1 in South Asia.

Two-way trade has averaged US$8.46 billion annually in the past five years and last year reached $7.92 billion (Bt277 billion), accounting for 1.9 per cent of Thailand's total trade.

Source : nationmultimedia.com