A more profitable partnership

A more profitable partnership

Indian ambassador to Thailand, Anil Wadhwa, sees great potential in free trade agreements and further economic cooperation between the two countries

 

Anil Wadhwa, the ambassador of India to Thailand, is hopeful that Thailand and India will conclude a new, vastly expanded version of the two countries’ free trade agreement (FTA) by the middle of this year.

The current FTA covers only 84 items but the new one will include more than 30,000.

“It will be a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement [covering trade and investment in manufactured goods, as well as services], so it is very significant.

“We are looking at all sectors of the economy and feel that it will be complementary for our two countries’ economies.

“The current bilateral trade value is roughly about US$8 billion annually. This was estimated for 2011 and it should grow to at least $10 billion in 2012. If we conclude an expanded comprehensive economic agreement, there are possibilities that the value will go up much further.

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