India stays away from RCEP talks in Bali

Snub is a further sign New Delhi may pull out of trade deal negotiations

India did not attend Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks in Bali, Indonesia, on Tuesday -- months after refusing to sign an agreement on negotiations. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)

SHOTARO TANI, Nikkei staff writer

February 4, 2020 11:09 JST

JAKARTA -- India stayed away from the latest talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, in a further sign that it may pull out of negotiations for the free trade agreement touted as largest in the world.

New Delhi's snub of the two-day chief negotiator meeting that started on Monday on the Indonesian island of Bali was confirmed by an official attending the talks. It comes three months after a summit in Bangkok, where all of the 16 participant countries, except India, agreed on "text-based negotiations."