
For Boris Johnson, Republic Day visit to India carries hope of delivering on Brexit promises, trade deals
The timing of the visit is crucial for India, as it seeks to boost trade after the coronavirus-induced economic slump

S Jaishankar suggests free trade talks with EU stuck due to bloc's reluctance
The talks for the FTA have been stalled since May 2013 when both sides failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including on data security status for the IT sector

Economic hurdles and role of China mean staying out of RCEP isn't the wrong move for India... for now
For now, there are a handful of major economic concerns that preclude India from considering the RCEP... and one rather formidable geopolitical one

No trade deal in offing between India and US during Donald Trump's visit, but a commitment to FTA likely
India and the US have been negotiating a trade pact for over a year now and sources say that United Stated Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and commerce minister Piyush Goyal have developed a good understanding.

China's skewed sex ratio is prompting men to look for brides in Vietnam, resulting in stories of fraud, love and trafficking
China has 24 million more men than women of marriageable age and many bachelors have their sights set on Vietnam. Vietnamese women are often trafficked and duped by online marriage brokers. China has also seen several instances of organised marriage fraud. Still, about half of the Vietnamese-Chinese couples interviewed reported being happily married.

RCEP figures in Xi-Modi 'informal' talks: What the free trade deal entails and why India has reservations against it
India has for the longest time stayed in two minds about the usefulness of RCEP as it wrestled with the conflict of staying in the group while protecting the interest of its domestic economy.

About 200 US companies seek to move manufacturing base from China to India, says US advocacy group
The US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum's president said the companies are talking to them about how to set up an alternative to China

Arvind Panagariya says India can explore possibility of free trade agreement with US in services sector
India currently has FTAs with over dozen countries including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and ASEAN nations.

India hopes to sign free trade pact with European Union in 'foreseeable future'; exports likely to reach peak level this year
In 2013-14, the country's merchandise exports touched $314.4 billion level. After that, exports came under immense pressure again due to global slowdown.

Trade policies should define digital products to enable and negotiate market access
India should align its innate economic strengths to its export-services.

United States to evaluate Pakistan's bailout request from IMF on merit, says state department
The US will evaluate on merit a bailout package sought by Pakistan from the International Monetary Fund, the state department said Thursday.

Pakistan's proposed bailout by IMF offers India, US strategic opportunity to reign in ISI and army
This is an opportunity to read the riot act to the Pakistan Army and the delinquent intelligence service ISI

China congratulates new Maldives president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, hopes for 'enabling environment' for business
A wary China on Tuesday hoped the Maldives' new government will provide an "enabling environment" to the Chinese companies.

India, United States look to close in on package deal to remove trade irritants; farmers likely to get benefitted
The current discussions are focussed on removing outstanding sources of friction, and are not aimed at creating a bilateral free trade agreement

Pakistan government plans to renegotiate agreements reached under China's Belt and Road Initiative: Report
Imran, who was elected on a platform of anti-corruption and transparency, in the past had criticised jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for the lack of transparency and corruption in the CPEC projects

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visits Pakistan, reaffirms 'all-weather' partnership; says CPEC increased economic growth
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Saturday rejected concerns that China was burdening Pakistan with debt through its investments in the $50 billion CPEC.

Suresh Prabhu says negotiations on RCEP trade deal to continue in 2019, more rounds of talks required to sort out issues
Negotiations for the mega-trade deal RCEP will continue in 2019 as more rounds of talks are required to sort out issues pertaining to goods and services, Suresh Prabhu said.

India to form group of ministers to resolve issues regarding proposed RCEP agreement among ASEAN countries, FTA partners
The government will set up a group of ministers (GoM) to look into issues related to the proposed mega free trade agreement RCEP, official sources said.

India, Sri Lanka to hold 10th round of talks to widen scope for free trade agreement; negotiations likely to conclude by December
India and Sri Lanka will soon hold the tenth round of talks to widen scope for FTA and will conclude negotiations by December 2018