New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that BIMSTEC members should re-examine the priorities of member nations with regard to trade negotiations so that the delayed Free Trade Agreement can be finalised.
Addressing the inaugural edition of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Business Summit here, he said that there is a need to reassess the reasons behind the delay in the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement.
Members need to come up with a set of cogent recommendations that are acceptable to all seven countries, the Minister added.
He called for the Trade Negotiating Committee and the business community to consider a preferential trade agreement to begin with to foster intra-regional trade and investment and enhance regional competitiveness.
The minister called upon the members to introspect on the current trading relations noting that trade among the BIMSTEC countries is small. There's a long way to go before we can achieve its full potential, he said.
The Union Minister called for deeper integration amongst the member nations to provide honest feedback and help strengthen trade facilitation and cross-border movement of goods.
He further stated that there should be a focus on reducing trade deficits, strengthening of trade facilitation measures to strengthen partnership in e-commerce, digital public infrastructure and better integration of customs borders with the aid of technology.
