Trade Minister Andrew Robb hopes to settle a free-trade agreement with India before he leaves politics at the next election.

There’s also an outside chance he might finalise deals with Singapore and Indonesia.

“I would like to do my best to conclude the Indian agreement,” Mr Robb told reporters in Canberra on Thursday, admitting it wasn’t an easy assignment.

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“They’re not prone to do the trade agreements and when they do they make it somewhat difficult.”

But he said “a lot of progress” had been made in negotiations.

Mr Robb said he could also make a contribution to getting a deal with Indonesia well under way, but it might take another nine months at the earliest.

“We can make a very accelerated start and start to get some low-hanging fruit,” Mr Robb said.

“
The deal with Singapore was more than just trade.
 It would be similar to the whole-of-government relationship that Australia enjoys with New Zealand.

“To me that’s a very important thing to conclude because we have such a powerful and complementary relationship with Singapore.”