Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma is expected to visit Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur between February 14 and 18 for signing the pacts -- Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan and Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Malaysia, an official told PTI.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on wednesday said the Reserve Bank of India would have to step in to stem the downslide of rupee.
There was, however, no common ground between the government and the traders delegation as Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma made it clear to them that there was no question of rollback of the decision to open the multi-brand retail to foreign investment.
The guidelines regarding the decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in the multi-brand retail will be issued by next week.
Efforts are on to convince West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to support FDI in multi-brand retail which is coming up for consideration of the Union Cabinet on Thursday evening.
"It was agreed that the first meeting for this purpose (starting of negotiations for comprehensive economic cooperation agreement) would be scheduled by June or July," India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters at a joint press conference with Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson in Canberra, Australia.
Commerce ministers of the three countries, who met in Pretoria on Tuesday, also decided to hold formal annual trilateral talks to boost intra-IBSA trade.
The TERC, which comprises, among others Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, will also review the state of play in the Doha Round of talks for a multilateral trade agreement under the aegis of World Trade Organization, sources said.
"We are seriously considering raising the bar further- that means to allow increased FDI," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at a CII event on Indian luxury market.
Keen on expanding oil and gas explorations in Vietnam's East Sea, energy-hungry India today said it will be a "win-win" situation for both the economies.
When India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma met his counterpart in Beijing last year, he spoke mainly about India's yawning trade deficit and China agreed that this was a problem that needed fixing.
India's disappointment over recent 'protectionist' measures by the United States, including increase in visa fee for IT professionals and Ohio's ban on government outsourcing, will be raised at the high level ministerial meeting in Washington on Tuesday.
Indian industry, particularly the IT sector has been concerned over increasing resistance to outsourcing in the developed world.
The far-reaching Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement serves a number of national interests on both sides.
Sharma was speaking to reporters after Coca Cola Co chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent met him at his office.
India will sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) with Japan on Wednesday, setting the stage for free bilateral trade of goods and services.
The sops, to be given under different schemes like 'Focus Market' and 'Focus Products' from January to December 2011, were unveiled here by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
India will sign trade pacts with Japan and Malaysia within a week.
Asks India Inc for a list of concerns in 4 weeks, to coordinate policy response within 60 days; FM says prevailing cynicism based on perception, not facts.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said the government will soon announce incentives for labour intensive export sectors, notwithstanding high growth in the shipments during December.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday met Environment Minister Jayanthi Natrajan to resolve the inter-ministerial differences over a proposal to ease environment laws in the manufacturing policy.
Wen said, China is ready to work with India to increase the scale, and expand the scope of bilateral business cooperation.
In the face of stiff opposition in Parliament to foreign direct investment in retail, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Monday sought to reach out to MPs and state chief ministers and appealed to them to rise above 'petty' partisanship on the issue.
The Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry comprising top industrialists and bankers met on Wednesday and reviewed the economic situation, particularly in the wake of the European financial crisis.
India and Saudi Arabia on Friday, agreed to increase investments in each other's country through joint ventures to enhance economic cooperation. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah bin Ahmed Zainal Alireza, agreed to regular exchange of business delegations to sensitise the businesspersons in both the countries.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma will be meeting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to make a case for the extension of one of the most popular incentives to exporters, the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB), which is slated for expiry on June 30. DEPB is a duty reimbursement scheme, launched 14 years earlier.
The India-China trade is on course to reach the USD 100 billion target by 2015, but New Delhi is concerned over galloping gaps between India's exports and imports from China.
At present, global retail firms can invest up to 51 per cent in India and need a local joint venture partner.
The document consolidating all the aspects of foreign direct investment policy and framework will be released by commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma, an official said.
A meeting of the Board of Trade, an advisory body to the Commerce Ministry, is likely to be held on October 11, a ministry official said.
Of late, Indian businessmen have been complaining about difficulties in obtaining German visas.
India with its promise of higher return on investments offers boundless opportunities for corporate America to invest in the country, particularly in manufacturing and infrastructure, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said.
Sharma met US trade representative Ron Kirk, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack and deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman and other senior Obama Administration officials.
Russia on Tuesday invited Indian pharmaceutical companies to set up joint ventures in the country. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin during his meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said Russian pharma firms were keen to increase their engagements with Indian companies including setting up joint ventures.
Days ahead of India-EU annual summit, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said a few ends are yet to be stitched for concluding the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two sides.
The government on Wednesday expressed disappointment over China not fulfilling its promise to import more IT, ITeS and pharma products, which could help reduce the hugely-tilted trade imbalance favouring Beijing.
Announcing the annual Foreign Trade Policy, Anand Sharma said recovery in global economy so far has been fragile and uneven.
Charging the multinational companies with making several drugs beyond the reach of the poor, visiting Commerce Minister Anand Sharma today asserted it is the Indian generics which have challenged such a "suffocating stranglehold" and made the medicines affordable.
The deal was signed between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara in Tokyo.
The Bill, which also seeks to empower the government to impose quantitative restrictions on import to protect the interest of domestic industry, was approved by the Rajya Sabha earlier.
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