Thursday, September 14 2006 12:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Brasilia: With an eye on reaching their trade target of US$ 10 billion, India, Brazil and South Africa yesterday (Sept 13, 2006) agreed to institute arrangements to promote trade in goods, services and investments.

Discussions are underway for a possible trade arrangement that would link India with MERCOSUR and the Southern African Customs Union, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at a meeting of Heads of Government with CEOs from the three countries.

"We expect this would create a large and expanding economic space that would allow the utilisation of synergies in trade and technology," he said.

Formed in 1991, MERCOSUR is a trading bloc in Latin America comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It has Chile and Bolivia as its associate members. Its objective is to facilitate free movement of goods, services, capital and people among the four member countries.

"As a start, we propose to establish an IBSA mechanism for exchange of information and of experiences on regulatory issues and for the organisation of sector-specific workshops and seminars on technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. We would also examine the possibilities of harmonizing standards," Singh said.