Bimstec for new deadline for FTA enforcement
Xinhua, Kathmandu
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), an economic bloc consisting seven South and Southeast Asian countries, is resuming trade negotiations next week in order to finalise the bloc's free trade agreement (FTA) and propose a new date for its enforcement."Trade Negotiation Committee (TNC) has announced to convene a meeting from July 25 in Colombo," an official at Nepali Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) told reporters here Yesterday. Though the members had earlier planned the Colombo meet for May, it was canceled due to internal problems in Sri Lanka and political upheaval in Thailand. The cancellation has forced the bloc to miss the FTA implementation deadline of July 1. "Owing to the pressing situation, the meeting will mainly revolve around outstanding issues of free trade accord on trade in goods," the official said on condition of anonymity.
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