India, ASEAN to resume talks on expanding services soon

New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) Further negotiations for an
India-ASEAN pact for opening trade in services, an area of
immense interest to Indian professionals, will be held soon,
Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on
Monday.
Officials from India and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) would resume their talks to widen of the
scope of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the 10-nation
trading bloc to cover services and investment.
"The second round of negotiations is soon going to
begin," Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of an ASSOCHAM
function here.
An official said the talks are likely to take place here.
Last month, senior officials from India and ASEAN had met
in Bali. The two sides are hoping to conclude the negotiations
by August this year.
India and some of the key ASEAN members like Malaysia,
Singapore and Thailand have already operationalised the FTA in
goods from January.
The services sector is of key interest to India as the
sector contributes over 55 per cent to its economy. The sector
has also emerged as an important area for export earnings.
The country is looking at expanding trade with the ASEAN
in several services, including banking, insurance, health,
accountancy, architecture and engineering.
Both the sides are also discussing to recognise each
other's educational degrees.
The two sides aim to increase their USD 44 billion trade
to USD 50 billion by the end of 2010.
The ASEAN countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand,
Singapore and Vietnam. PTI RR
MYR