Nirmala not to attend AEM meet in Myanmar; may delay FTA

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will not attend the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting in Myanmar, a development which may further delay the signing of free trade agreement between India and ASEAN in services and investments.
"Unfortunately had to cancel attending Myanmar AEM meet," Sitharman said on Twitter.
India and the 10-nation ASEAN were expected to sign the much-delayed free trade agreement in services and investments during the four-day meeting which began yesterday.
According to sources, efforts are on to complete the formality of signing the pact but the possibility looks bleak this time.
In December last year, the Union Cabinet had approved the free trade agreement between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).

After implementing the free trade pact in goods in 2011, both the sides were engaged in widening base of the pact by including services and investments sectors.

The agreement, if implemented, will help boost movement of Indian professionals in the Asean region. It will also facilitate more investments in the services sector.
Trade between India and South East nations' bloc Asean was about USD 76 billion in 2012-13. Both the sides aim to increase it to USD 100 billion by 2015.
The Asean members are: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.