Indo-Asean FTA needs a fillip

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: is to lift up the CLMV economies and transform them into a frictionlessly integrating, prospering and competing sub-region. A related aim is to raise the awareness of GMS governments so that they can better comprehend the policy, legal and regulatory imperatives for accelerating Public-Private Partnership (PPP). That will be of vital importance for infrastructure development—and they can learn from India’s experience in that sector. The foregoing should instill greater confidence within CLMV’s decision-makers and deepen their ability to identify potential sectors for cooperation.

That, in turn, should be accompanied by hikes in the quantum of trade, investment, tourism, language-use (English) and entrepreneurship development (ED). Indeed, ED is already well under way in the CLMV countries. It took off from February 2004 thanks to India’s support to the Initiative for Asean Integration (IAI).

As for IT and software development, they too will be taken up—much like they have been with the Asean since the year 2000. This is one area in which India can justly claim to be amongst the best—and strong demand has given it one of the biggest IT markets.

In fact, India today is a global IT hub, and the sector should grow by 28% (this year alone) to notch up $47.8 billion in value. Another sector characteristic is that it is ascending from low-end processes to high-value ones—Nasscom stresses that increases in offshore product development and engineering services will be integral to the sector.

But the GSM economies will find that their immediate need is to develop or identify, a domestic talent pool to kick-start the training process. But, in India, they will be choosing ‘right’. This economy will be able to supply academic needs within the sub-region and globally. India may also set up ED institutes there to make them employable.

In short, what we have been discussing is the fallout of India’s LEP, but in aid of CLMV economies thanks to Asean’s wishes. They are being put through a capacity-building regimen focused primarily on HR development.