India-ASEAN talks on services trade from Jan 12

India has lined up a series of meetings with the ASEAN -- a trading bloc of 10 southeast Asian nations -- over the next seven months to reach a deal on opening up services trade, after opening up of merchandise trade.

"Negotiators will meet in New Delhi from January 12-16 to take forward the talks on services trade," a senior commerce ministry official said, adding that more interactions are scheduled for March, April, May and July.

So far, two rounds of negotiations have already taken place in this regard. India signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in August, which will come into effect from January 1, and is committed to begin breaking duty barriers on goods.

The services sector contributes over 55 per cent to India's gross domestic product. "We are interested in most of the services in ASEAN, including banking and insurance," the official said.

He said India wants more access for its professionals in ASEAN nations like Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

There are a lot of opportunities for professionals in these nations in the areas of information technology, English teaching, medicine and architecture.

Even though the FTAs do not provide immigration, they make it easier for the services professionals to acquire business contracts.

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are the 10 members of the ASEAN. India has an observer status in the bloc.