India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in services, investments to ink in December in Bali

India and the 10-nation ASEAN today decided to ink a free trade agreement in services and investments in December in Bali with a view to strengthen economic engagement between the regions. "... the Agreements (ASEAN-India Trade-in-Services Agreement and ASEAN-India Investment Agreement) would be signed on the sidelines of the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali from 3-6 December 2013," a joint statement issued by India and Indonesia said.

The agreement will boost movement of Indian professionals in the ASEAN region which include countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It will also facilitate investments.

After operationalising a free trade pact in goods in 2011, both the sides were engaged in widening the base of the pact by including services and investments. Trade between India the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) stands at about USD 76 billion in 2012-13. Both the sides have aimed at increasing it to USD 100 billion by 2015. The other ASEAN are Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The statement was issued after a meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is on an official visit here.

Further, it said that the leaders expressed satisfaction at the growing trade and investment ties between India and Indonesia and expressed confidence in achieving the bilateral trade target of USD 25 billion by 2015.

In 2012-13, the bilateral trade stood at USd 20.2 billion. The leaders also directed an early launch of negotiations on an India-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that would build upon the ASEAN-India FTA by bringing more depth and coverage.