The Hindu : Front Page : Manmohan calls for creation of pan-Asian free trade area

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 13, 2005

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Manmohan calls for creation of pan-Asian free trade area

Amit Baruah

Says India-ASEAN free trade agreement could be the first step in the process "This will not be easy, and it cannot be done in a day. There will be sceptics. But for believers, it is eminently possible. I am convinced that this is the only way to move forward."

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday called for creation of a pan-Asian free trade area (FTA). Like the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area, he said the pan-Asian FTA would be a dynamic, open and inclusive association of regional nations.

"This will not be easy, and it cannot be done in a day. There will be sceptics. But for believers, it is eminently possible. I am convinced that this is the only way to move forward," he said.

Addressing the ASEAN (Association of South East-Asian Nations) Business Advisory Council, he said the east Asian community was a natural extension of the ASEAN-India engagement process. "The India-ASEAN free trade agreement could become the first step in the process. The limited FTA is a beginning but we must ensure that it leads to explosive growth in trade and investment."

The "essence of the idea" was to build a closer link between India and ASEAN nations. The two sides could double their trade to $30 billion by 2007. India's share in the global flows of goods, services, knowledge and culture had grown exponentially. "After registering an eight per cent rate of growth in 2003-04, our economy recorded upwards of seven per cent growth for two years in a row. Indeed, in the first half of 2005-06, we have touched eight per cent."

India was a vibrant marketplace. "Our entrepreneurs are investing overseas successfully. Businesses from abroad, including from ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea, find India a productive and profitable business destination," he said.

"Similarly, the gathering momentum of India-China relations is visible in the expansion of our bilateral economic ties. The process of engagement in the Asian region has truly taken off. I am confident it will be self-sustaining, enhancing direct contact between the peoples of the region."

India was committed to bringing down its tariffs to ASEAN levels, dismantling unwarranted barriers and expanding capital flows. "We must walk this road together, so that enterprises in our countries find it a beneficial process, not a hurtful one. There may be losers, and there will certainly be gainers, but on the whole, we will obtain a win-win outcome," he said.

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