June 03, 2005
DHAKA (AFP) - Seven South and Southeast Asian nations are on track to conclude a free trade deal that would enter into force in mid-2006 and give a big boost to regional trade, senior officials said Thursday.
"We're expecting to complete the FTA (free trade agreement) negotiations by December this year and it will enter into force in July 2006," Bangladesh's foreign secretary Hemayetuddin, who uses one name, told AFP.
He was speaking after a two-day foreign-secretary level meeting of nations belonging to BIMSTEC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Co-operation) that wound up late Wednesday.
In addition to the five founding members, BIMSTEC includes new members Bhutan and Nepal.
At a BIMSTEC summit in the Thai capital, Bangkok, last July, the leaders of the seven countries signed a framework agreement paving the way for the free trade area.
BIMSTEC was formed in 1997 in the hope of forging closer trade ties through strengthened transport and information networks in the region.
It has identified trade and investment, transport, tourism, communication, technology, energy and fisheries as areas for "focussed" cooperation.
Ananya Raihan, a Bangladesh trade and investment consultant, said the agreement could see a doubling of business between the seven nations.
"Trade among the BIMSTEC nations is now worth 12 billion dollars a year. But once the agreement comes into force, there is every chance that it will double within half a decade," he said.