The ascendency of India as an economic world power

It seems that Indian government is trying for free trade with too many countries. You know that India is a member of SAARC and the SAARC countries are working for having South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the neighbors of India want India to open its market more. Then, we also know that Indian officials have been trying for quite some time to have FTA with GCC countries. Last year, there was speculation that this FTA will take place in 2007.

Earlier this month, we saw that discussions about Free Trade Agreement (FTA)  between India and ASEAN countries did not go quite smoothly as ASEAN countries wanted India to open its market more. Now, Indian officials are talking with EU officials about having a free trade pact between India and 27 member countries of EU.  

AFP wrote:

The EU is India's largest trading partner, accounting for a fifth of India's total trade, and is also one of its most important sources of foreign investment.

Officials from both sides set the tone for the day with calls for a free trade deal to be wrapped up by next year.

Premier Manmohan Singh, foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, trade minister Kamal Nath and national security advisor M. K. Narayanan were meeting Friday with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Jose Socrates, Prime Minister of Portugal, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Nath had urged a successful conclusion of a free trade pact by the end of 2008 on Thursday and European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson voiced similar hopes.  

 I am not too excited about it. I guess that Indian government officials should try to resolve the problems with ASEAN first and then focus on EU. The reality is that any kind of free trade agreement will require India to sacrifice a lot and I am not sure if Indian businessmen and ordinary people are quite ready for that yet.