The Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Saturday said the 5th AITIGA Joint Committee and related meetings for review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) were held in ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Indonesia from July 29 to August 1, marking a significant milestone in enhancing economic cooperation between ASEAN and India.

The meeting was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, India and Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade), Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, Malaysia.

Delegates from all 10 ASEAN Countries and India participated in the meeting.

AITIGA Joint Committee had initiated discussions for review of AITIGA in May 2023 and after finalising its Terms of Reference and Negotiating Structure, AITIGA JC and its Sub-Committees started negotiations in February 2024.

The first two rounds of negotiations were held in February 2024 in New Delhi and in May 2024 in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry further said during the third round of negotiations in Jakarta, Indonesia, all 8 Sub-Committees dealing with ‘National Treatment and Market Access’, ‘Rules of Origin’, ‘Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures’, ‘Sanitary and Phytosanitary’, ‘Legal and Institutional Issues’, ‘Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation’, ‘Trade Remedies’ and ‘Economic and Technical Cooperation’ met alongside 5th AITIGA JC and held substantive discussions making significant progress during this round.

All the Sub-Committees reported the outcomes of their discussions to the 5th AITIGA JC, which provided them further guidance to steer their future work.

Separate meetings were also held with ASEAN Secretary General Dr Kao Kim Hourn as well as ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Satvinder Singh to discuss the possibilities in enhancing economic cooperation between India and ASEAN through review of AITIGA.

The Indian delegation interacted with Indian businesses in Jakarta on July 31 over a dinner arranged by Embassy of India in Jakarta and listened to the experiences of industry and their expectations from AITIGA review.

ASEAN is an important trade partner of India with about 11 per cent share in India’s global trade.

The review of AITIGA, signed in 2009, will help create further opportunities for businesses on both sides to enhance the level of India-ASEAN trade.

The next meeting of the AITIGA Joint Committee will be held in India from November 19-22.