Australian trade minister Andrew Robb (left) meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in January 2015
Negotiations between Australia and India over the proposed free trade agreement are expected to conclude in the first half of 2016.
Australian minister for trade & investment Andrew Robb told PTI that after meeting with Indian commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman in December last year, both parties agreed that negotiations could be finished within six months.
'We sat down in Nairobi, we had a long session with their officials and the minister and we took stock at where we were and how much longer we could expect and we both agreed that and the officials concurred that in the first half of the year we can finish this,' Robb said.
'So that's the objective and I don't think anything has happened since. In fact we got our work done in January and now in February [officials] are meeting again on some very important issues.”
Talks to boost two-trade between the countries began in 2011 and were due to conclude last year but stalled following discussions on proposed tariff cuts on products such as dairy and wine, reports PTI.
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