| Date: |
24-05-2010 |
| Subject: |
India-Asean FTA talks to focus on services sector |
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New Delhi: India and Asean are going to start discussions on including services in the ambit of the free trade agreement (FTA) when senior trade officials from the 10-member block visit New Delhi next month.
According to sources in the commerce ministry, India is going to push for opening of the services sector, an area where India holds a comparative advantage owing to its demographic advantage over the South East Asian countries.
The June meeting will be followed by a multi-lateral level meet in Hanoi (Vietnam) between India and the Asean countries in August.
Commerce minister Anand Sharma is expected to attend that meeting.
“Now that the trade agreement in goods & services is well underway, India is going to push services…it is top most on our priority list,” an official said.
India is going to negotiate liberalisation especially in mode 1 and mode 4 categories. These relate to outsourcing and hindrance free movement of Indian working professionals like nurses, architects, doctors and lawyers to that part of the world. “Currently a chartered accountant cannot practice in other countries because he has to meet the requirements of that particular country,” he said.
Manab Majumdar, assistant secretary general of industry chamber Ficci said if India is able to stitch a deal with Asean on services it would open a lot of opportunities for India as Asean is a net importer of services. “On an annual basis the Asean countries import services worth close to $ 200 billion which is a big opportunity for Indians,” he said. Currently services contribute almost 50% of Asean’s total GDP.
Importantly by 2015 Asean countries want to achieve complete service liberalisation. “This would make India one of the early entrants into the liberalised services zone in Asean,” Majumdar added.
The Asean bloc that consists of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei, Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam have been negotiating with India for a free trade agreement for over six years. It only materialized in August last year.
Total trade between India and Asean is around $ 40 billion of which India’s share in exports is close 50%. However India’s share in Asean’s total trade is less than 3%.
Source : Financial Express
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