News: Lobby group sees India-EU trade trebling in 6 yrs

(RTR 11/10/2006) New Delhi - A bilateral trade pact can help treble India's two-way trade with the European Union to 150 billion euros a year by 2012, an industry body said on the eve of a summit between the leaders of the two sides at Helsinki.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, also the President of the E.U., are expected to address an Indo-EU business summit on Thursday. E.U. trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, will also be present.

A prominent item of discussion could be a liberal trade pact, being negotiated between India and the E.U. India already has a similar deal with Singapore.

"Greater engagement between India and the E.U. following a decision to negotiate a trade and investment agreement will give an impetus to the current trade and investment flows," the Confederation of Indian Industry said on Wednesday.

India-EU trade could reach 70 billion euro within the next two years from an estimated 48.5 billion euro estimated in 2006, it said.

"If the current growth rates in trade continue then by 2012, when India and EU should have a trade agreement in place, bilateral goods trade could be around Euro 150 billion," the industry body said.

Trade in services could touch 75 billion euro by then, it added.