Thailand seeks enhanced FTA with India

Bangkok, Apr 5 (UNI) Thai Commerce Minister Krikkrai Jirapaet will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Kamal Nath in New Delhi next week which are expected to cover enhancing the scope of the India-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Mr Krikkrai will be in India from April 10-13 heading a delegation of more than 30 Thai business leaders.

Besides talks on the FTA, the Thai Commerce Minister is scheduled to initial a memorandum of understanding on Thai-Indian industrial standard products.

Organised to mark 60 years of bilateral diplomatic and trade ties, the Thai team's visit comes as Bangkok seeks enhanced trade opportunities with India amidst faltering progress on the parallel FTA being negotiated between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

According to Thailand's top trade negotiations official, talks on the India-ASEAN FTA are stuck over the scope of tariff cuts, providing opportunities to both India and Thailand to focus on their bilateral deal.

ASEAN Economic Ministers will meet in July to take a decision on continuation of the four-year-old FTA negotiations with India, said Ms Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Director-General of Thailand's Trade Negotiations Department.

''The member countries have a target that the July negotiations should make more progress, otherwise the pact will be scrapped,'' she pointed out.

Thailand wants to increase the number of items eligible for tariff cuts to about 5,500 under the India-Thailand FTA, the Thai trade official said.

''The (Thai) government does not want to lose our competitive edge to rivals. We will concentrate on the bilateral pact with India,'' she added.

The India-Thailand FTA framework agreement has led to a significant rise in bilateral trade over the past few years.

Thailand exported 1.8 billion dollars worth of goods to India last year while Indian exports to Thailand amounted to 1.6 billion dollars.

Under an early harvest scheme, 82 items enjoy duty-free access to either country since September 1, 2006.

UNI