India and Thailand today agreed to expedite the negotiations for a comprehensive bilateral market

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opening pact and conclude it by June-July this year.

"We have agreed to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement that would include goods, services and investment," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after meeting his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra.

A joint statement by the two countries said, "To strengthen economic links between the two countries, both sides reaffirmed their resolve to conclude the bilateral Comprehensive Agreement on Trade in Goods, Services, and Investments by mid-2012, to further enhance economic links and between the two countries".

With an aim to further create a supportive atmosphere for the bilateral and regional comprehensive economic cooperation, the two leaders also agreed that ASEAN and India should conclude their regional Trade in Services and Investment Agreements by 2012. India and ASEAN have already implemented FTA in goods.

During Shinawatra visit, the 2nd Protocol to amend the Framework Agreement for Establishing Free Trade Area, which would provide further boost to bilateral trade in the immediate terms, was also signed.

"We have also concluded a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. I conveyed to the Prime Minister that we welcome more Thai investment into India, especially in the manufacturing, infrastructure and services sectors," Singh added.