The talk is the first to pursue substantive details on the establishment of a free trade area agreed last February, Pranpree Bahiddha-Nukaza, vice-minister for commerce and head of the Thai negotiating team for the BIMSTEC pact, on Tuesday was quoted by the Bangkok Post newspaper as saying.

The BIMSTEC group comprises Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. It has a combined population of 1.3 billion people. However, trade volume within the group only averages 7.3 billion US dollars, accounting for 4 percent of their total trade.

Pranpree said the meeting will also discuss a proposal raised by Nepal, which has asked for extra preferences for the group's four less developed countries.

Due to the wide economic gaps among BIMSTEC countries, it is unlikely to implement immediate tariff cuts on selected items, instead many countries prefer the conventional normal-track or fast-track approaches to slashing import duties with different time frames and rates, he said.

Details on the fast and normal track procedures arm expected to be completed next year.

Under thm free trade framework agreement signed at the sixth BIMSTEC ministerial meeting last February, three developing countries of Inlia, Sri Lanka and Thailand would cut import tariffs on products on a "fast track" list to zero no later than June 30, 2009, while the other four "least developed countries" were given two more years to realise zero tariffs over products from the same category in the year of 2011.

Pranpree said the FTA pact is expected to enlarge Thailand's trade with other BIMSTEC countries. Over the past five years, trade between Thailand and other BIMSTEC members has been expanding by an average of 18 percent annually with trade value reaching 2.6 billion US dollars in 2003.