ASEAN-India FTA possible
ASEAN may complete negotiations for a free-trade agreement with India by July, after missing earlier deadlines, the group's secretary general Ong Keng Yong said.
"We still have one deadline, which is June or July, for conclusion of negotiations," Ong said in Singapore yesterday. "I don't think it's realistic to expect the free-trade accord to be completed this year.''
ASEAN leaders are holding their annual summit in Singapore this week.
A trade agreement between India, the world's second-most populous country, and ASEAN would boost annual trade between the two, already worth more than US$23 billion. Negotiations between the 10-member bloc and India are deadlocked on tariff cuts on agricultural products.
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