Jakarta to host next India-Asean trade review meet

Officials of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) bloc and India will meet in Jakarta, Indonesia, in July to review the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement, or the AITIGA deal, the Indian government said.

This will be the fifth joint committee meeting. The fourth meeting concluded in Putrajaya, Malaysia, last week.

Asean is India’s key trading partner, with a share of 11% of the nation’s overall global trade.

In fiscal 2024, India-Asean trade declined to $122.67 billion from $131.58 billion in the previous fiscal.

Top officials of India and Asean have been discussing reviewing AITIGA to make it more trade-facilitative and beneficial for businesses across the region, which commenced in May 2023.

The Indian government feels that the upgradation of AITIGA will boost bilateral trade.

The fourth joint committee meeting held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, additional secretary, department of commerce, and Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, deputy secretary general (trade), ministry of investment, trade and industry in Malaysia.

So far, eight sub-committees have been formed to discuss national treatment and market access, rules of origin, standards, technical regulations con, conformity assessment procedures, and legal and institutional issues.

The five such committees have already started their work. Sub-committees met in Putrajaya, Malaysia, alongside the 4th AITIGA Joint Committee.

The Indian and the Asean joint review committees have met four times so far.