Fourth Joint Committee Held to Review ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement

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

It is expected that the 5th ASEAN-India Joint Committee meeting will take place from July 29-31, 2024 in Jakarta, Indonesia (Photo: PIB Delhi).

A total of 8 Sub-Committees have been constituted for dealing with different policy areas of the Agreement in the review and out of these, 5 Sub-Committees have started their discussions. All the 5 Sub-Committee reported the outcomes of their discussions to the 4th AITIGA Joint Committee.

Four of these Sub-Committees dealing with ‘National Treatment and Market Access’, ‘Rules of Origin’, ‘Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures’ and ‘Legal and Institutional Issues’ also met physically in Putrajaya, Malaysia alongside the 4th AITIGA Joint Committee. The Sub-Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary had met earlier on 3rd May 2024. The Joint Committee provided necessary guidance to the Sub-Committees. The Subcommittee on Sanitation and Quarantine previously met on May 3, 2024.

The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) was signed in 2009. In September 2022, both sides tasked the AITIGA Joint Committee to conduct a review to make the Agreement more trade-friendly and mutually beneficial. ASEAN is one of India's major trading partners with an 11% share in India's global trade. Bilateral trade reaches US $122.67 billion in 2023-2024. The review of AITIGA will facilitate further expansion of trade between the two sides in a balanced and sustainable manner. It is expected that the 5th ASEAN-India Joint Committee meeting will take place from July 29-31, 2024 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Both sides are aiming to conclude the review in 2025.

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