India prioritises review of Asean trade pact for simpler business terms

The commerce department on Friday said that the review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) is ‘high on our priority’ to make the pact more ‘user-friendly, simple, and trade-facilitative for businesses’.

Economic ministers of India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are meeting in Laos to review the progress in negotiations of the trade deal between both sides. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal is visiting the Southeast Asian nation on September 20–21.

People aware of the matter said that India is pushing for a quicker conclusion of the review of the trade deal. New Delhi will nudge Asean nations such as Indonesia and Vietnam to give market access for more products to make the deal more ‘balanced’, one of the persons cited above said.

“Met the Asean-India Business Council (AIBC) delegation on the sidelines of the 21st Asean-India Economic Ministers' meeting. Discussed strengthening business engagements between India and the Asean nations and exploring new avenues for growth and collaboration,” Goyal said on X.

Asean comprises Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The India-Asean trade deal came into force in January 2010. In August 2023, both sides announced the aim to complete the review of the existing agreement in goods between the two regions by 2025.

Goyal will also attend the 12th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers' Meeting (EAS EMM). These annual meetings of Asean with their dialogue partners are being hosted this year by Laos, the Asean chair for 2024. “The ministers will deliberate on regional and global economic developments,” the statement said.

Minister Goyal will have a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from participating countries on the sidelines of the two institutional meetings.

Asean is one of India’s most important trading partners. For the last two consecutive years, Asean has been India's second-largest trading partner.