India and the ASEAN countries reached an agreement on Monday to review their free trade pact for goods and set a 2025 goalpost for concluding the review aimed at addressing the “asymmetry” in bilateral trade, the Commerce Ministry said.
A Joint Committee of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), signed in 2009, deliberated on the roadmap for the review of the pact and finalised the terms of reference for the fresh negotiations, ahead of an ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ meeting held in Indonesia on Monday. The AITIGA review will now be taken up at the India-ASEAN Leaders’ Summit scheduled in early September for further guidance.
“The review of the AITIGA was a long-standing demand of Indian businesses and the early commencement of the review would help in making trade facilitative and mutually beneficial,” the Ministry said in a statement. “The Ministers agreed to follow a quarterly schedule of negotiations and conclude the review in 2025. The review of AITIGA is expected to enhance and diversify trade while addressing the current asymmetry in the bilateral trade,” the Ministry added.
Published - August 21, 2023 10:40 pm IST
