New Delhi: Upbeat about the prospects of the proposed Indo-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Thai Deputy Prime Minister Dr Korn Dabbransi on August 6 said it will give a big boost to bilateral trade which is expected to touch two billion USD by the end of 2004.

"The signing of FTA will clearly benefit both nations, as it will facilitate the flow of bilateral trade and investment," Dabbransi said at a FICCI (Federation of Indian Chamber Commerce and Industry) meeting in New Delhi.

Efforts to establish FTA were "on track", Dabbransi said and hoped it would be finalised in October.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is expected to visit Thailand in October to sign the agreement.

He said once the agreement is signed, under the early harvest programme, both countries would immediately bring down tariffs on more than 80 items and further reduce tariffs on them to zero by 2010.

Asking Indian businessmen to invest in Thailand, he said with the implementation of ASEAN Free Trade Area, they could reach a unified market of 520 million people.

However, he said Bangkok was keen on foreign investment which could help the country move up the development ladder.

"In terms of investment, we are focussing on attracting not just investment, but the right kind of investment... That is, investment that brings not only capital but also technical know-how and technology transfer," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley said the conclusion of the FTA would be a very significant step not just for bilateral relations but also for the Asian region as a whole.

PTI