NEW DELHI: India has announced that the joint committee reviewing the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) has made "good progress".
The 6th AITIGA joint committee meeting was co-chaired by Malaysia's Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry deputy secretary-general Mastura Ahmad Mustafa and Rajesh Agrawal, an additional secretary at India's Ministry of Commerce, on Nov 21 and 22 in New Delhi.
The two sides are aiming to upgrade the 14-year-old free trade agreement to make it more business-friendly. Eight sub-committees are examining various issues such as market access, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, Customs procedures, and trade remedies.
"During this round of discussions, the sub-committees have made good progress in textual discussions, and some ground has also been covered towards initiating tariff negotiations," a statement from India's Ministry of Commerce said.
Representatives from all 10 Asean countries took part in the New Delhi meeting, which followed the recent Asean-India Economic Ministers Meeting and the Asean-India Summit in Laos.
The next AITIGA joint committee meeting is set to take place in Jakarta in February.
"The review of AITIGA will be a step forward in enhancing trade with the Asean region in a sustainable manner," the Indian statement read.
Trade between India and Asean reached US$121bil during the April 2023 - March 2024 period. – Bernama
