SOUTH KOREA AND INDIA TO BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS ON FTA
South Korea and India will begin talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) on 23 March in New Delhi. Deputy trade ministers Kim Joong-keun of South Korea and S. N. Menon of India will lead the discussions during the two-day first round of negotiations.
This comes after a February summit in Seoul where presidents Rohn Moo-hyun of South Korea and APJ Abdul Kalam of India signed a memorandum of understanding to start negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aiming to conclude the deal by late 2007.
Negotiations are likely to cover protections for foreign investments and regulations on the movement of businesspeople between the two countries. India’s existing CEPA with Singapore includes provisions on goods, standards, investment, services, and labour movement.
Indian government officials have indicated that the country is further seeking FTAs with other nations, including Japan and China. Along with Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives, India is also in the process of creating the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), which seeks to cut goods tariffs among member countries to a low level by 2016.
"S Korea, India open free trade talks," ASIA TIMES, 22 March 2006; "S. Korea, India To Commence First Round of Free Trade Talks," TRADING MARKETS, 21 March 2006; "S. Korea, India Aim to Sign Free Trade Deal By End of 2007," BILATERALS.ORG, 7 February 2006; "India in Center of Effort for World’s Largest Free Trade Area," BILATERALS.ORG, 22 March 2006; "Exploring New Frontiers in India-Korea Trade," DECCAN HERALD, 20 February 2006.