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India, ASEAN sign FTA on services, investments

India officially inked a free trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on September 9.
India officially inked a free trade agreement (FTA) in services andinvestments with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) onSeptember 9.

According to “The Hindu” newspaper, all ASEANmembers are expected to get the agreement ratified by their parliamentsbefore it will be formally adopted during the India-ASEAN Summitscheduled for later this year.

The pact is expected to open upopportunities of movement of both manpower and investments, allowingIndia to leverage its competitiveness in the areas of finance,education, health, information technology, telecommunications andtransport.

It will also be specially helpful for balancing India ’s deficit with ASEAN countries in trade of goods.

The India-ASEAN agreement on trade in goods became operational in 2010.-VNA
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