India-EFTA FTA likely by year-end
PTI | 11:10 PM,Oct 29,2010New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) India and European Free Trade Association comprising Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein are likely to firm up a free trade agreement by end of the year.Norway's Trade and Industries Minister Trond Giske said negotiations between India and EFTA are expected to be completed and signed by year-end."The FTA is expected to be finalised by end of this year," he said here.These four countries are not part of 27-nation European Union, with which India is also negotiating a FTA, and recognising the need for enhancing trade ties, a Joint Study Group between India and EFTA was established in 2006 to explore the possibility of such an agreement."We are hoping for a significant rise in bilateral trade volume once the FTA is concluded," Giske, who is here to seek deeper trade ties with India, said.The volume of current annual bilateral trade is around USD 1 billion which is expected to double in next five years.Based on the conclusions of JSG, negotiations had commenced in October 2008 for the India-EFTA broad-based FTA which is likely to cover trade in goods and services.The agreement is likely to include trade in goods, services, investment, intellectual property rights and technical cooperation. The EFTA was founded in 1960 as a means of achieving growth and prosperity among its member states.PTI MPB
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