By IANS
New Delhi : India hopes to conclude a comprehensive trade pact with the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) by February and start talks for a similar pact with Malaysia in January, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said.
“I am confident that this agreement with Malaysia will take our bilateral ties to newer heights and contribute to the growth of (both) economies,” Kamal Nath told a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here Monday.
The minister said the joint study group set up by the two countries felt there was vast scope to enhance bilateral ties not only in merchandise goods but also in services and investment by entering into a comprehensive agreement.
Speaking in the presence of his Malaysian counterpart Rafidah Aziz, who is on a weeklong visit here, Kamal Nath said the study group had estimated bilateral trade to top $16 billion by 2012 from the present level of $6.6 billion.
The accord is expected to cover a wide range of areas such as education, tourism, healthcare, IT, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
The trade pact with Asean has been held up because of the differences over farm tariffs, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in Singapore last week that New Delhi was confident of concluding it before the end of this fiscal.
The Malaysian minister, who is accompanied by a 40-member business delegation, said the two countries had deepened their economic engagement and that vast opportunities existed not only in trade, but also in investment and services.
Later, during his talks with Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Frank Heemskerk, Kamal Nath said the two sides would hold the third round of negotiations for an India-EU trade pact next month, having identified the vexed issues.
Discussions have already been held on other areas to be covered in pact such as non-trade barriers, intellectual property rights and geographical indications, competition policy, government procurement and dispute settlement.