India wants 'win-win outcome' from RCEP negotiations, says PM Modi

We have put forward reasonable proposals in a clear manner and are engaged in negotiations with sincerity, said Modi

India wants a “win-win outcome” from negotiations for a China-backed regional trade pact, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday as he called for "balance across goods, services and investments".

“We have put forward reasonable proposals in a clear manner and are engaged in negotiations with sincerity,” he said in an interview with the Bangkok Post, about the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

“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,” he said in the interview in Bangkok where leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc gathered on Saturday to seek a breakthrough in talks for RCEP.

Modi said India was clear that a mutually beneficial RCEP was in its interests and those of all partners in the negotiations. India has long pushed for other countries to allow greater movement of labour and services in return for opening its market of more than 1 billion people to certain goods, reported Bloomberg.

"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,” he said.