IANS

New Delhi, Oct 3: India's free trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will not adversely affect the country's fisheries sector, Minister of State for Agriculture K.V. Thomas said here Saturday.

The India-ASEAN FTA is beneficial to all the signatories and it "will not adversely affect the fishing community", Thomas told reporters here, referring to the Left parties' criticism that the pact would be detrimental to the country's agricultural and fishing sectors.

His remarks came a day after the Kerala unit of the CPI-M formed a 910-km human chain from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargode to protest the free trade agreement.

Accusing the CPI-M) of adopting an anti-development position, the minister said the Marxists' opposition was not being taken seriously.

Emphasising the need for modernisation of the fisheries sector, Thomas said: "India should resort to modern technology, better infrastructure and business practices to ensure global competitiveness."

He, however, added that the traditional fishing community should be protected from the effects of modernisation.

"India will have to strike a balance between modernisation and the interests of the traditional fishing community while making the sector internationally competitive," Thomas added.