Indo-Thai trade pact by Sep

A free trade agreement between Thailand and India is expected to be completed by September this year providing a big boost in trade between the two Asian countries.

Thai experts are expected to conclude a framework of the Thailand-India Free Trade Agreement by July and Thai and Indian trade negotiation teams will meet in May and July, Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra told a conference on investment in Bangkok.

"Over the next five years, Asian economies and trade are set to come closer," he said on Wednesday.

However, according to Thai analysts the successful implementation of the FTA is dependent on how quickly India lifted its trade barriers against Thai imports and how efficiently Thai negotiators and business councils acted on previous state-to-state agreements, media reports said in Bangkok.

Trade between Thailand and India has grown at an annual average of 3.7 per cent since 1997, according to the commerce ministry in Bangkok. With the implementation of the FTA, the volume of Thai exports to India is expected to jump by 113 per cent, Thai daily Nation said.

Thailand aimed to use the FTA as a springboard to conclude trade deals with other South Asian nations like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, it said.