India will sign comprehensive market opening trade pacts with Japan and Malaysia within a week, said Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday.Sharma plans to visit Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur for signing Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan and Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Malaysia.
"Within a week, we are travelling to Tokyo and Kula Lumpur (to sign the pacts)," Sharma said in New Delhi.
The agreements are aimed at reducing or eliminating tariffs on over 90 per cent of the goods India trades with Japan and Malaysia.
Besides, opening of market for merchandise, the pacts also aim at liberalising trade in services, an area of particular interest to India.
Both the pacts were finalised during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur last October.
Sources said under the India-Japan CEPA both sides will relax barriers on trade in goods, investment, services and movement of professionals, besides enhanced cooperation on protection of intellectual property.
The agreement will boost the two-way commerce, which stood at about $11 billion in 2009-10.
The pact with Malaysia (a member of ASEAN), will be in addition to the FTA India has with the 10 Southeast Asian nations.
The trade pact between India and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) came in force in January 2010.
The agreement with Malaysia is expected to come into effect from July and will give boost to the $8 billion bilateral trade in 2009-10.
India has already operationalised comprehensive pacts with South Korea and Singapore and is in the final stage of negotiations with the European Union.
