India and six other countries forming Bimstec economic grouping on Saturday agreed on a draft treaty that would abolish tariffs and throw open their resources for free trade among them.
Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley discussed the draft of the framework agreement with his counterparts from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Singapore, and they would sign it on Sunday at the end of their two-day meeting.
In his opening remarks, Watana Muangsook, commerce minister of the host nation, stressed the need for setting up a more "substantive and meaningful economic cooperative framework."
"Our success in estabilishing the free trade area will greatly increase both our inter-regional and intra-regional trade," he said, adding: "We are yet to tap our enormous potential and resources."
Watana said it was important to reach an agreement and establish a free trade area because "within this globalised world relationship between the developed and developing countries had changed. There is no longer the centre-periphery divide between the superpowers and their proxies."
The BIMSTEC was formed in 1997 and is yet to hold its first summit. A summit, which was proposed to be held on February 9 but had to be postponed as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could not attend due to the coming elections in India.
Watana said it was important for Asian developing countries to come up with a new strategy for their survival and prosperity.
"Our foreign economic relations need to change their nature away from donor and recipient relationship to an inter-dependency and equal partnership both among ourselves and with the developed countries through free trade system," he said.
Officials said with the combined market of over 1.3 billion consumers and an aggregate GDP of almost $800 billion, the establishment of a Free Trade Area would greatly increase inter-regional and intra-regional trade.
Watana said the member nations should be determined to turn the economic grouping into a "region of free and unfettered trade and investment."
A meeting of senior foreign ministry officials, including Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank, earlier reviewed the progress of cooperation under priority projects as identified by the member nations. Six projects have been identified by the members with each country taking on a project.
The officials discussed Thailand-Myanmar-India Road linkages under which the three countries will jointly develop road linkages starting from Amphoe Maesod of Thailand passing through Pagan in Myanmar and connecting with Moreh in India.
India has granted 150 training scholarships for BIMSTEC personnel while Thailand has offered 100 scholarships.
The officials also discussed business travel facilitation within the region and the idea of long term multiple entry visas to BIMSTEC business travellers.
The officials urgently recognised the need to work more closely to combat international terrorism, transnational crimes and the spread of infectious diseases by the exchange of information and technical cooperation.
