Xinhua, New Delhi :
India has formally signed a free trade agreement for services and investments with ASEAN, said local daily The Hindu online Tuesday.
All ASEAN members are expected to get the agreement ratified by their Parliaments after which it will be formally adopted during the next India-ASEAN summit later this year, said the report.
The services agreement will open up opportunities of movement of both manpower and investments, allowing India to leverage its competitive edge in the areas of finance, education, health, IT, telecommunications and transport, said the report.
This will be especially helpful for balancing India’s deficit with ASEAN countries in trade of goods, said the report.
The India-ASEAN Agreement on trade in goods was operationalised since in 2010.
The report quoted an Indian Commerce Ministry source as saying here the move would help provide a commercially meaningful market across ASEAN for India’s professionals, including those from the IT sector, as well as independent professionals.
