India to bond with EFTA

India will sign a comprehensive trade and investment agreement with the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) by the end of this year, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Thursday.
 
Sharma said during his meeting with Johann Schneider Ammann, who heads Switzerland's Federal Department of Economic Affairs, in Bern last month, the two countries decided to conclude the deal in 2011.
 
Following recommendations of a joint study group set up in December 2006, India and EFTA launched negotiations in January on a trade and investment agreement.
 
The EFTA countries are Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. These countries are not part of 27-nation European Union.