NEW DELHI: India will open its trade in goods and services with Malaysia, Japan and the European Union in the first half of 2011, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here.

Talking to newsmen here, Mr. Sharma said the first half of next year would witness signing of comprehensive market and investment promotion agreements with Japan, Malaysia and the EU. India has already signed a framework agreement for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Malaysia and concluded negotiations for a similar pact with Japan

With the EU, which has a bilateral trade of $76 billion with India, differences had cropped up on the level of opening of the market, dairy farming, issues pertaining to child labour and environment. After the India-EU summit attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Brussels on December 9, the negotiations have been intensified and are likely to be concluded by March next with a formal agreement coming by spring time. Mr. Sharma informed that India had launched negotiations for comprehensive economic partnership agreement with New Zealand and Canada. India had already entered into comprehensive market opening pacts with Singapore, South Korea and 10-nation economic bloc ASEAN.

Similarly, Mr. Sharma said a national policy aimed at making India a manufacturing hub leading to creation of more jobs and boosting economic growth would roll out by the end of next month. "We are in dialogue with the Planning Commission and it is my expectation that by the end of January 2011, we should be able to roll out the National Manufacturing Policy,' Mr. Sharma said.

He said the new policy seeks to attract high-technology from advanced economies. "Our aim is to make India one of the manufacturing hubs. It will create jobs and boost economic growth,' he remarked. Mr. Sharma said the Commerce Ministry had recently sent out a note for inter-Ministerial consultation for formulating the policy.

- hindu.com