New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) ASEAN remains a key trade partner for India, accounting for around 11 per cent of the country’s global trade, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Friday.
Bilateral trade between India and the ten ASEAN member nations reached an impressive USD 123 billion in 2024-25, underscoring the deep economic linkages and the vast potential for future collaboration.
India hosted the 10th Meeting of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee and related meetings at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, from August 10 to 14.
Delegates from all ten ASEAN countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – took part in the discussions, which focused on reviewing and modernising the AITIGA.
The meeting aimed to make the agreement more effective, more accessible, and better equipped to facilitate trade in an evolving global economy. Building on the momentum from eight rounds of negotiations already completed, the Joint Committee explored ways to streamline procedures, remove bottlenecks, and align regulations.
The high-level meeting, conducted in a hybrid format, brought together senior officials and trade experts from across the region. Alongside the main sessions, seven of the eight AITIGA Sub-Committees convened to dive deeper into specialised areas, including customs procedures, market access, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, rules of origin, technical standards, legal frameworks, and trade remedies.
According to the Ministry, these targeted meetings allowed for intensive work on complex issues, ensuring that any updates to AITIGA will reflect both technical rigour and the shared vision of member nations. The week-long deliberations reaffirmed the strategic importance of ASEAN-India economic relations and laid the groundwork for more open, predictable, and mutually beneficial trade.
The dialogue will continue when the Joint Committee meets again on October 6-7, 2025, at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, in a session hosted by Malaysia, the ministry said.
The sessions were co-chaired by Nitin Kumar Yadav, Additional Secretary in India’s Department of Commerce, and Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade) at Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry.
–IANS
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