India cuts negative lists for poor Saarc countries; trade target at $40 billion

India on Monday expressed confidence that the new government in Islamabad will soon implement the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) with New Delhi and take necessary measures, including duty changes, to facilitate trade.

India has unilaterally decided to cut the negative list with regard to the least developed countries—Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives—in the Saarc region to around 500 from 744, to expand trade in goods in the region. The necessary notification to this effect would be revised within a few months. The Safta ministerial council, which met here on Monday set an intra-Saarc trade target of $40 billion in the next 3-5 years, from the present $20 billion. The council also agreed to start talks on an agreement on trade in services, alongside discussions on trade in goods. The regional study on Trade in Services has been completed, giving an opportunity for an effective services agreement amongst Saarc countries.

“We are looking toward the new government in Pakistan to take more positive steps in fulfilling the agreement in Safta, which it has acceded to but not implemented. We are looking at the new administration in Pakistan to look at this positively because it is an advantageous situation for them,” commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath told reporters here after the third meeting of the Safta ministerial Council.

Source: financialexpress.com