India, Turkey studying FTA possibilities

NEW DELHI: India and Turkey are exploring possibilities of entering into an agreement to liberalise their bilateral trade in goods and services, a senior Commerce Ministry official said today.

The Joint Study Group, comprising officials from the two countries, which is going into the possibility of duty reduction or elimination through a free trade agreement is expected to finalise its report by early next year, Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, A K Mangotra, said.

"Meetings between the two sides are going on ... in September we are again meeting here. May be, by end of this year or in the first quarter of 2011, the JSG will submit its report," Mangotra told reporters here on the sidelines of a Ficci function.

He said that sectors like tourism, pharmaceutical, petro-chemicals and minerals in Turkey hold huge potential for Indian companies.

Turkey, a member of European customs union, could help India entry to Europe and member-countries of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, Mangotra said.

The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 3.13 billion in 2009-10.

Key items exported by India to Turkey include cotton and man-made yarn, machinery, pharmaceuticals, transport equipment and chemicals.

Major imports from Turkey comprise minerals, fertilisers, nuclear reactors and machinery.

India is in the process of negotiating more than a dozen free trade pacts with countries like Japan, Malaysia and European Union.

FTAs with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) and South Korea have recently been operationalised. Besides, such trade pacts are already in operation with Singapore and Sri Lanka.

According to a study done by the International Council for Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER),the issues of concern to Indian businessmen in Turkey include delays in customs clearances, licensing, high tariffs and difficulty in obtaining worl permits.