After failing to sign the final draft of the India-Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Services and Investment in Nay Pai Taw this week, New Delhi is looking at various options to formalise the pact ahead of the bilateral summit scheduled later this year.

“It is unfortunate that the Commerce Minister couldn’t attend the Economic Ministers’ meet in Myanmar because of other pressing engagements.

“But, we are serious about our commitment towards the ten-member Asean bloc,” a Commerce Ministry official told Business Line , adding that various options for formalising the bilateral services and investments pact were being explored.

The India-Asean FTA on services and investment — an agreement to boost cross-border investment and facilitate movement of professionals between India and the ten-member bloc —will upgrade the existing FTA in goods into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

While the details of the pact was sealed in March this year, it has to be signed by Economic Ministers of all countries before it is formally adopted. The formal adoption is likely to be during the next India-Asean Summit later this year.

One of the options being explored is to get the pact signed by the Economic Ministers from the 10Asean countries in the presence of senior Commerce Ministry officials from India who could then get the relevant papers to New Delhi for Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to sign, the official said.

Another option is to wait for the sixth round of negotiations of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership scheduled in New Delhi in early December. Since all the ten Asean countries are also part of RCEP, the pact could be signed at that time.

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