Breakthrough in Indo-Thai FTA talks

Bangkok, Aug 1 (UNI) India and Thailand are likely to soon remove the hurdles in talks to set up a bilateral Free Trade Area (FTA), Indian Ambassador to Thailand Latha Reddy said here today.

Addressing a seminar to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Thailand, Ms Reddy said the FTA negotiations ''are at a very advanced stage'' and that she was hopeful of a breakthrough ''during the course of the next few months.'' The preliminary bilateral trade liberalisation under an Early Harvest Scheme since September 2004 has nearly doubled mutual commerce between the two countries which is poised to exceed four billion US dollars this year.

Besides an FTA in goods, India and Thailand are also discussing an FTA in services and an agreement on investments. Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) in Thailand has increased more than 100 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 as compared to the same period last year.

The seminar was organised by the India Studies Centre of Bangkok's Thammasat University, one of the country's leading higher education institutions.

Academians from India and Thailand, and former Indian Ambassador to Thailand A N Ram also addressed the gathering which included leading members of the Indian community.

Despite a framework agreement on the India-Thailand FTA four years ago, negotiators from the two sides are still grappling with knotty issues.

According to Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University Associate Professor of Economics Suthiphand Chirathivat, Thai exporters to India seem to have gained more than Indian exporters to Thailand.

Speaking on India-Thailand economic relations at the seminar, Mr Suthiphand said Indian businesses, specially makers of automotive components have demanded modifications in the FTA.

Indian and Thai FTA negotiators are still to find common ground on issues such as rules of origin, the number of products eligible for liberalisation and the scope for overall liberalisation.

About 5,000 products are under discussion with a few hundred of these to be excluded from trade liberalisation.

UNI