India-EFTA FTA likely by year-end

New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) India and European Free Trade
Association comprising Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and
Liechtenstein are likely to firm up a free trade agreement by
end of the year.
Norway's Trade and Industries Minister Trond Giske
said negotiations between India and EFTA are expected to be
completed and signed by year-end.
"The FTA is expected to be finalised by end of this
year," he said here.
These four countries are not part of 27-nation
European Union, with which India is also negotiating a FTA,
and recognising the need for enhancing trade ties, a Joint
Study Group between India and EFTA was established in 2006 to
explore the possibility of such an agreement.
"We are hoping for a significant rise in bilateral
trade volume once the FTA is concluded," Giske, who is here to
seek deeper trade ties with India, said.
The volume of current annual bilateral trade is around
USD 1 billion which is expected to double in next five years.
Based on the conclusions of JSG, negotiations had
commenced in October 2008 for the India-EFTA broad-based FTA
which is likely to cover trade in goods and services.
The agreement is likely to include trade in goods,
services, investment, intellectual property rights and
technical cooperation. The EFTA was founded in 1960 as a means
of achieving growth and prosperity among its member states.
PTI