Government of India as well as the governments of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member countries will shortly begin negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), a senior official has said. The five-member EAEU comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. India’s annual trade with EAEU is currently at 8.4 billion US Dollar.

India and the EAEU had decided to set up a Joint Feasibility Study Group on the India – EAEU FTA at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 2015. “This report has since been finalised and accepted by the government of India and governments of the individual EAEU countries following which negotiations on the FTA are to be launched,” Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has said recently.

Speaking at a session on ‘Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – India:  A Strategic Partnership’ organised as a part of SPIEF, Abhishek said there was a need to promote connectivity between India and the EAEU region and the International North South Transport Corridor would be extremely critical for this purpose.

Speaking on the occasion, Eurasian Economic Commission minister for trade Veronika Nikishina said that the EAEU has so far only concluded one FTA with Vietnam, and India would be the second. “This demonstrates the importance being placed on India by the EAEU.”

– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel