Jakarta hosts 5th AITIGA Joint Committee Meeting, progress in ASEAN-India trade relations

New Delhi (India), August 3 (ANI): The fifth meeting of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee was held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia from July 29 to August 1.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the meeting was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, India, and Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Commerce), Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Malaysia. The meeting was also attended by representatives from all ten ASEAN countries and India.

The AITIGA Joint Committee commenced discussions to review AITIGA in May 2023 and, following the finalisation of the Rules of Procedure and the negotiating structure, the AITIGA Joint Committee and its Sub-Committees commenced 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.

During the third round of negotiations in Jakarta, Indonesia, all eight subcommittees focused on “National Treaty and Market Access,” “Rules of Origin,” “Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures,” “Sanitary and Phytosanitary Matters,” “Legal and Institutional Issues,” “Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation,” “Trade Remedies,” and “Economic and Technical Cooperation.” The subcommittees met in parallel with the 5th AITIGA Joint Meeting and held substantive discussions, achieving significant progress, the press release reads.

All subcommittees presented the results of their discussions at the 5th AITIGA Joint Meeting, which then provided them with further guidance for their future work.

On the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the AITIGA Joint Committee, the leader of the Indian delegation held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam to develop a common understanding of the issues discussed in the AITIGA review.

Separate meetings were also held with ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn and ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Satvinder Singh to discuss ways to strengthen India-ASEAN economic cooperation through the review of AITIGA.

ASEAN is India’s key trading partner, accounting for about 11% of India’s global trade. The AITIGA review, originally signed in 2009, is expected to create further opportunities for businesses on both sides to increase India-ASEAN trade.

The next meeting of the AITIGA Joint Committee is scheduled to be held in India from November 19 to 22. (ANI)