Thailand, India to discuss FTA progress in July

Thailand and India will push for progress in talks on their not-yet-realised free trade area (FTA) agreement in July.

Thailand and India will push for progress in talks on their not-yet-realised free trade area (FTA) agreement in July, Commerce Minister Krirkkrai Jirapaet said.

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So far, negotiations on the FTA agreement between the two countries have made little headway, Krirkkrai said, with the next round of nearly-stalled talks scheduled to be held in Bangkok between July 11-15.

He said if the Indian government stood firm during the upcoming negotiations then it would be useless to continue the discussion any longer.

The upcoming talks are scheduled after Prime Minister Gen Surayud Chulanont visited New Delhi and other Indian cities earlier this week and held talks with senior Indian officials on Thailand-India cooperation under the Bay of Bengal Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation accord.

Both countries signed a framework agreement to establish a bilateral FTA in 2003 in which they agreed to introduce an early-harvest scheme on the basis of which tariffs were reduced on 82 products, beginning in September 2004.