印度与欧亚经济联盟不久将开始进行FTA的谈判

India, EAEU to soon begin FTA negotiations: Official

The Government of India as well as the governments of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member countries will shortly begin negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), a senior official has said. The 5-member EAEU comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. India’s annual trade with EAEU is currently at $8.4 billion.

India and the EAEU had decided to set up a Joint Feasibility Study Group on the India – EAEU FTA at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 2015. “This report has since been finalized and accepted by the Government of India and governments of the individual EAEU countries following which negotiations on the FTA are to be launched,” Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, ministry of commerce and industry, said at the recent SPIEF in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Speaking at a session on ‘Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – India: A Strategic Partnership’ organised as a part of SPIEF, Abhishek said there was a need to promote connectivity between India and the EAEU region and the International North South Transport Corridor would be extremely critical for this purpose.

He also highlighted the role being played by the “Green Corridor” in promoting trade facilitation between India and Russia. He felt that this Corridor could be extended to the other EAEU countries in due course.

Speaking at the same session, Eurasian Economic Commission minister for trade Veronika Nikishina said that the EAEU has so far only concluded one FTA with Vietnam, and India would be the second. “This demonstrates the importance being placed on India by the EAEU.”

A strong FTA between India and the EAEU will help strengthen the India – EAEU strategic partnership, noted Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Shobana Kamineni.

CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said that the India – EAEU FTA will also provide a foundation for further deepening of ties between India and members of the EAEU.

译文如下：

印度与欧亚经济联盟不久将开始进行FTA的谈判

一名高级官员表示，印度政府和欧亚经济联盟(EAEU)成员国政府将很快开始就自由贸易协定(FTA)展开谈判。EAEU的5个成员国包括亚美尼亚、白俄罗斯、哈萨克斯坦、吉尔吉斯斯坦和俄罗斯。印度与EAEU的年度贸易额目前为84亿美元。

2015年，印度和EAEU决定在圣彼得堡国际经济论坛(SPIEF)上建立一个联合可行性研究小组。“这份报告已经完成，并在启动自由贸易协定谈判后接受印度政府和EAEU各国政府,”工商部工业政策和投资促进部门秘书Ramesh Abhishek最近在这个圣彼得堡举行的论坛上说。

Abhishek在一次关于“欧亚经济联盟——印度”的会议上发表讲话时表示，印度需要促进印度和欧亚地区之间的联系，而国际北部的交通走廊将对这一目标起至关重要的作用。

他还强调了“绿色走廊”在促进印度和俄罗斯贸易便利化方面所发挥的作用。他认为这条走廊可以在适当的时候扩展到其他的东欧国家。

在同一会议上，欧亚经济委员会的贸易部长Veronika Nikishina说，到目前为止，EAEU只与越南达成了一项自由贸易协定，而印度将是第二个国家。“这表明了EAEU对印度的重要性。”

印度和EAEU之间的一个强大的自由贸易协定将有助于加强印度与EAEU的战略伙伴关系，印度工业联盟(CII)主席Shobana Kamineni表示。

CII总干事Chandrajit Banerjee说，印度与EAEU间的自由贸易协定也将为印度与EAEU成员国之间的关系进一步深化而提供基础。