BackIndia signs trade agreement with Asean
Pact expected to throw open free movement of professionals between the two sides
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New Delhi: Trade minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday signed the trade in services and investments agreement with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping which is expected to throw open free movement of professionals between the two sides.
Asean is an economic grouping comprising 10 nations including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Sitharaman was scheduled to sign the agreement in Nay Pay Taw, Myanmar, during the Asean economic ministers meeting on 26 August. She, however, cancelled her travel to attend the launch event of the government’s inclusive banking scheme Jan Dhan Yojana for which Sitharaman was in charge.
The two sides signed the agreement on trade in goods in 2010. The commerce ministry officials have later spoken about the tactical mistake of negotiating the goods agreement separately from the services since India lost the chance to achieve overall balance in the agreement. Since then, India has decided to negotiate both trade in goods and services agreements at the same time with any side.
Nine out of 10 Asean countries have signed the services and investment agreement and the Philippines is completing its domestic procedure and expected to sign soon, a commerce ministry official said.
“Both India and Asean member states have taken General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) plus commitments in various services and modes of supply. Each Asean member state has tabled individual schedule of commitments which are equally applicable for India and other Asean member states," a commerce ministry official said speaking under condition of anonymity.
India, on the other hand, has tabled three schedules of commitments one for the Philippines, one for Indonesia and one for the remaining eight Asean member states, the official said.
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