New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that India will ensure that its concerns and interests are fully accommodated during the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) meeting in Bangkok. He added that India would like to see that it gains in equal terms as it opens its market for other countries.
Mr Modi reached Bangkok on Saturday to take part in the 16th Asean-India Summit on Sunday, and the 14th East Asia Summit and the 3rd Summit meeting of nations negotiating a RCEP agreement on November 4.
“At the RCEP Summit, we will take stock of the progress in RCEP negotiations. We will consider all issues, including whether India’s concerns and interests in trade in goods, services and investments are being fully accommodated, during this summit,” PM Modi said in a pre-departure statement.
The Regional Comprehensive Econ-omic Partnership (RCEP), comprising the 10-member Asean bloc and six other countries — India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand — is engaged in negotiations for a free-trade pact.
The government is facing intense pressure from farmers and small industries as they feel India will be at a disadvantage if it signs the RCEP pact. While a section of domestic industries has raised serious concerns over tariff related issues in the RCEP agreement, farmers have demanded that agriculture be kept out of the purview of RCEP since the free trade deal will bring down import duties on several agricultural commodities.
In an interview with the Bangkok Post published on Saturday, Mr Modi said that while India remains committed to a comprehensive and balanced outcome from the ongoing RCEP negotiations and its successful conclusion is in the interest of everyone involved, India seeks balance across goods, services and investments, and also within each pillar.
“We recognise the high ambitions of our partners on goods. We too would like a win-win outcome. We believe that for this, addressing our concerns over unsustainable trade deficits is important. It needs to be recognised that opening the vast Indian market must be matched by openings in some areas where our businesses can also benefit. We have put forward reasonable proposals in a clear manner and are engaged in negotiations with sincerity. We would like to see commensurate levels of ambition on services from many of our partners, even as we are ready to address their sensitivities,” PM said in the interview.
“Overall, we are clear that a mutually beneficial RCEP, in which all sides gain reasonably, is in interests of India and of all partners in the negotiation,” he added.
In Bangkok, PM will also hold bilateral meetings with a number of other world leaders attending summit related meetings.
“I will be reviewing with Asean partners our cooperative activities, and examining plans for strengthening Asean and Asean-led mechanisms, enhancing connectivity (sea, land, air, digital and people-to-people), deepening economic partnerships, and expanding maritime cooperation,” PM said in his pre-departure statement.
On the East Asia Summit (EAS), Mr Modi said the leaders will review significant regional and global issues, and examinethe state of current programmes and projects. “I will also focus on our Indo-Pacific strategy, on which I am happy to note strong convergences with Asean partners and others at the EAS,” PM added.
