By IANS
New Delhi : India and the US, being the world’s two leading democracies, should try and find out ways to clinch a deal on the lines of a free trade agreement (FTA), Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said here Sunday.
“This (US-India FTA) is something which we should examine. We are the world’s two greatest democracies and if we both cannot have an agreement on trade then the world wonders why,” Kamal Nath said in reply to a specific query while addressing the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The minister also reiterated the successful conclusion of the Doha Round of trade talks under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) so as to revive the global economy.
“We are very much in favour of a successful conclusion of the Doha Round. The rule-based multilateral system is as important to us as it is to the developed countries,” he said.
“However, we can conclude them only when all countries engaged in the talks recognise and respect each other’s sensitivities. Our sensitivities lie with our farmers.
“We have to ensure that small and infant industries are not thrown out in open,” he said, adding that India was hopeful of a successful conclusion.