BANGALORE: Indians soon might experience visa-free trips according to a system proposed by the government for short trips across 15 nations. The proposal under Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free-trade agreement is an initiative to enhance business relationships, reports ET.
The Department of Commerce is yet to frame the plan and present it to RCEP members and has approached approval from home ministry.
The model of the proposed system is inspired from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), according to a commerce department official. "We have discussed this idea with the ministry of home affairs and they don't seem to have much of a problem with it."
The 16-country grouping, RCEP, includes the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asean members and their trading partner -India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and China.
The travel card will help authentic business travelers to travel hassle-free without having to wait for visa documentation in long queues at passport control.
"The card will be valid for a short period of time," said the official cited above. "We plan to get business travelers vetted by established trade organizations like the Federation of Indian Exports Organizations and industry chambers like FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)."
RCEP is planning to make initial proposals public at its next meeting to be held from October 12-16 in Busan, South Korea.
The business travel partnership agreement covers goods, intellectual property rights, investment, services, and competition and has a possibility of getting finalized within the current year.
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