"We have made an ambitious offer and are waiting for ASEAN to react," Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai said on the sidelines of a US-India Summit organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on Wednesday.
An ASEAN FTA is likely to happen next month during a summit meeting in the Philippines on December 6 and 8, when the countries sit together to finalise the
list of items to be included in the FTA, he said.
"We require more reciprocity. When we become flexible by pruning our negative list they become more sensitive," he said while referring to the negative list of the ASEAN nations which have expressed concerns on farm goods and textiles.
On exports, Pillai said he expects the exports to touch $130 billion by the end of the current fiscal with expectations of crossing $150 billion in the next year.
Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Discussion Group