Sharma on visit to Vietnam to meet ASEAN counterparts

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma is leading an official delegation to Vietnam to review the progress in the negotiations on the India-ASEAN Services & Investment Agreement with his ASEAN counterparts on August 26-27.

Mr Sharma will also hold discussions with the Trade and Commerce Ministers of ASEAN member countries - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - at the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ – India Consultations scheduled for August 27 at Danang in Vietnam.

An official press release said these consultations would also be the Ministerial-level preparations for the ASEAN-India Summit at Hanoi in October 2010.

India has already signed the India-ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement that covers tariff liberalisation between the parties which has come into force from January 1, 2010. India – ASEAN trade stood at $ 43.5 billion in 2009-10 and is targeted to reach $ 70 billion by 2012.

According to the release, the Services & Investment Agreement that the two sides are currently negotiating would have substantial sectoral coverage and would provide market access.

Mr Sharma is also slated to meet Trade and Commerce Ministers of the countries representing the East Asia Summit (EAS) during the visit. The EAS is a formation of the ten ASEAN countries and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

The release said Mr Sharma would take the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with Japanese Minister of Economy & Trade and Industry, Mr Masayuki Naoshima, the European Union Trade Commissioner, Mr Karel De Gutch and the Malaysian Minister for International Trade & Investment, Mr Mustapa Mohamed, to review and discuss the progress made towards the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), India-EU Trade and Investment Agreement and India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations, respectively.

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