Need to relook at BIMSTEC FTA negotiations, says Piyush Goyal

New Delhi [India], August 7 (ANI): Invoking the need to make the free trade agreement or FTA a reality amongst the BIMSTEC nations, Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal stressed the need to review the FTA negotiations on Wednesday in New Delhi.
"I heard somebody say, 22 rounds of negotiations have happened so far, that itself gives us a question mark, whether we need to pause and have a relook at the track we are going down on, " the Union Minister said.
He further added that there must be something holding the countries back.
The FTA negotiations might be getting affected due to the tariff or non-tariff barriers that are coming in the way of normal trade, he mentioned.
The Union Minister also underlined the need to look at the effect of the other regional FTAs which might be affecting the free trade agreement negotiations of BIMSTEC.
He also said that the member countries should work towards making "cogent recommendations" to take the negotiations forward.
Amid political unrest in Bangladesh, the two-day BIMSTEC Business Summit held in New Delhi said that BIMSTEC must together add more areas of cooperation to its ambit.
CII in its recommendation said that BIMSTEC countries should finalise a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The CII paper further added that the move will lead to quicker implementation and promote investment, job creation, technology partnerships, and services.
The member countries should also think about easing FDI restrictions, improving energy collaborations, developing agriculture technology transfer agreements, increasing regional cooperation in tourism, technology transfer facilities, and increasing transport connectivity between BIMSTEC states, the CII paper recommended.
With a total population of 1.7 billion, or 22 per cent of the world's population, BIMSTEC countries have the potential to contribute to the global economy. The GDP of BIMSTEC countries is currently about US$ 4.5 trillion but the region can achieve faster future growth rates through better economic integration. (ANI)