Published Paper Details:

Abstract With a population of more than 600 millions a nominal GDP of $ 2.31 trillion, ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations), made up of Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines, Singapore, Thailand, Combodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Brunei Darussalam, is fast becoming a major economic force in Asia and a driver of global growth. India is a major trading partner of ASEAN with approximately 10.5% share of trade. India-ASEAN relations have witnessed remarkable growth in recent years. At the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit 2012 in New Delhi we elevated our relations to a Strategic Partnership. Our relations have received new momentum under the Act East Policy. The relationship is set to deepen in days to come as the two sides step up their collaboration across a range of economic and strategic issues, including trade and connectivity, culture, people-to-people contacts, trans-national terrorism, and maritime security. With ASEAN and India working towards establishing a Comprehensive Free Trade Area through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), their cooperation will be key to promoting political stability and economic prosperity in our shared region. There is a lot to be gained from a bilateral engagement between India and the Members of ASEAN in services, especially as the region remains relatively closed to Foreign Service providers. Services tend to be more value-added and generate greater economic returns than production of goods; they also create more jobs and are found to be the more efficient investment. This paper analyses the opportunities in services trade that may arise out of the India- ASEAN Economic Cooperation to makes an assessment of the net gains that could arise from liberalisation of the commercially traded service sector. It analyses the economic scenario in the Asia-Pacific region and takes a macro overview of the trade creation potential of an agreement on trade in services between India and the members of ASEAN and India in the context of the ongoing attempts at multilateral liberalisation and the proliferation of bilateral/regional comprehensive new-age free trade agreements.