India’s trade with the ASEAN countries is expected to grow to $70 Billion by 2012. These expectations are based on the fact that trade between India and ASEAN countries has been growing at a rate of 18-20% every year. In 2011, trade crossed the $50 billion mark and hence targets for the year 2012 have been pegged at $70 billion, a growth of 20%. Since its start about a decade ago, the partnership between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam has been developing at quite a fast pace. Between 1993 and 2003, ASEAN-India bilateral trade grew at an annual rate of 11.2%, from $ 2.9 billion in 1993 to $ 12.1 billion in 2003. In 2008, the total volume of ASEAN-India trade was $ 47.5 billion and it crossed the $ 50 billion mark in 2011.
The India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to further increase goods trade between India and ASEAN countries. India has a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed with Singapore and FTAs with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. India and ASEAN are currently negotiating agreements on trade in services and investment. The services negotiations are taking place on a request-offer basis, wherein both sides make requests for the openings they seek and offers are made by the receiving country based on the requests.
India has made requests in a number of areas including teaching, nursing, architecture, chartered accountancy and medicine as it has a large number of English speaking professionals in these areas who can gain from job opportunities in the ASEAN region. India is also keen on expanding its telecom, IT, tourism and banking network in ASEAN countries.
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