The Hindu : Business : India, Thailand close to concluding FTA

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Saturday, Sep 01, 2007
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India, Thailand close to concluding FTA

Staff Reporter

Both sides want the list to include 10,000 products by 2010

NEW DELHI: India and Thailand are close to concluding a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is likely to be signed in the next two months, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said here on Friday after meeting Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry Kosit Panpiemras.

“After the FTA agreement is formalised, the bilateral trade between India and Thailand will altogether take a new growth trajectory to take trade relations between the two countries to a new height,” Mr. Kamal Nath said. The two countries signed a framework agreement in 2003 to strike an FTA deal to boost bilateral trade.

The Commerce Minister informed that the FTA negotiations were under way, covering trade in goods, services and investments, including issues such as ‘Rules of Origin,’ trade facilitation, anti-dumping and safeguard measures, and the dispute settlement mechanism. Senior officials from both countries were present at the meeting. Officials from both sides have been negotiating on the number of items to be included in the agreement. Both sides want the list to include 10,000 products by 2010. The India-Thailand talks to formalise FTA began during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Thailand in 2006.

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