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The much-awaited pact on trade in services and investment between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is likely to be a reality finally by the end of next month, which will open up greater job opportunities for India’s professionals in information technology, healthcare, designing and research.
India and the 10-member Asean trading bloc already have a goods agreement in place that came into force from August 2011, providing tariff-free access to a range of product lines such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering products, processed food and auto parts among others. Hence, after the signing the deal in services and investment, the free trade agreement will be called a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
It is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the World Trade Organisation ministerial meet in Bali in December. According to a senior ministry of external affairs (MEA) official, the CEPA with Asean will be operationalised by July 2014.
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“We are happy with what we have got under the services agreement. This will throw open the Asean markets. There will be more job opportunities and an easier business visa regime. Businesses would now have to utilise it properly,” the MEA official told Business Standard.
The deal in services was supposed to have been signed in 2009, when the goods pact was agreed upon. However, at that time, some of the Asean countries, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia were apprehensive of Indians “eating away their jobs” and they were also not open to the idea that similar concessions have to be given within the Asean members also, officials in the commerce department said.
Earlier, while addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry, Ashok Kantha, secretary (East), MEA, stated that bilateral trade between India and the Asean region has increased nearly 10 times in the last 11 years. Presently, two-way trade stands at $76 billion in 2012-13. Both the sides have aimed at increasing it to $100 billion by 2015.
Ever since the talks began in 2005, India’s main demand has been to obtain greater job opportunities for its professionals in the 10 member-Asean countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Myanmar.
However, the deal has now been finally sealed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Brunei on October 10 during the Asean-India Summit at Brunei Darussalam.
India is the tenth largest services exporter in the world while Asean is a net importer.
The services sector is of main interest to India as it contributes over 55 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product and in terms of export revenues.
