CIS & Other Countries Looking to Seal Free Trade Agreements With India - Commerce Minister

Delhi recently signed comprehensive trade agreements with the UAE and Australia, and is expecting to strike another FTA with the UK in the autumn. The world’s fourth-largest economy registered its highest ever export amount during the last financial year ending March 2022.

India has received proposals from several countries and regional blocs to begin negotiations for free trade agreements, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced on Tuesday.

The minister also noted that trade negotiations launched this year with the UK are "moving at a fast pace."

“Going forward negotiations with Canada, and the EU will begin. Many more countries are approaching India, including Russia and CIS countries, Switzerland and other EU countries, and the Gulf Cooperation Council,” the minister added.

During a 21st Annual Summit last December, PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin underscored the need to begin negotiations on trade agreements between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the bloc comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation.

Trade between India and the Eurasian bloc has been hovering around $13 billion for a long time. However, talks about the opening of an International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) via Iran’s Chabahar port recently gathered momentum.

The first batch of cargo from Russia's Chekhov reached India's Mumbai via the 7,200-kilometer INSTC last month. The Indian government believes that the route may help to boost bilateral trade between India and the EEU.

A Joint Feasibility Study Group report published in 2017 showed a potential growth of bilateral trade between India and the EEU of up to $37-62 billion.

The Commerce Ministry believes that signing two major free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia and the beginning of rupee-based international trade is expected to help India achieve a $500 billion export target in the current financial year.

Last year, India’s annual merchandise export crossed the $420 billion mark.