Minister Urges BIMSTEC to Reevaluate Free Trade Agreement Progress

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has urged the seven-member BIMSTEC bloc to reassess their slow free trade agreement (FTA) talks and consider a preferential trade agreement (PTA) instead. BIMSTEC, which includes five South Asian and two Southeast Asian countries, has been negotiating the FTA since 2004 with limited progress. Goyal emphasized a need for honest feedback from business leaders to shape political decisions on the future of the agreement.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday urged the seven-member BIMSTEC bloc to reassess the sluggish progress of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks, which have been moving at a slow pace.

Goyal suggested that instead of aiming for a full-fledged free trade pact, members consider negotiating a preferential trade agreement (PTA).

BIMSTEC, which stands for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, comprises five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka) and two Southeast Asian countries (Myanmar and Thailand). The bloc has been negotiating the FTA since 2004, but only twenty rounds of talks have occurred, with the last held in 2018.

(With inputs from agencies.)