Anand Sharma meets Froman, reviews Indo-US commericial ties

India Wednesday asked the US to participate in the manufacturing and research and development (R&D) sectors of its economy.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma met US Trade Representative Michael Froman in the Brunei capital and reviewed ongoing negotiations in the World Trade Oorganisation in view of the coming Bali ministerial meet in December.

They also discussed the future roadmap for concluding the Doha Development Agreement negotiations and issues of trade facilitation and food security.

Froman impressed upon putting in place a rule-based multilateral trade agreement which will be both balanced and ambitious.

In another development, India and ASEAN decided to set a target of $100 billion turnover for the bilateral trade by 2015 and reviewed the completion of legal scrubbing of India-ASEAN agreements on Trade in Services and Investment.

During the meeting with ASEAN ministers, Sharma informed them about the steps India had taken for elevating its relationship to a strategic partnership.

Both sides also endorsed the texts of the trade and services and investment agreements and the required steps to be taken by the participating countries for implementing the pacts. This marks the completion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement process between India and ASEAN.