Hope to Accelerate Dialogue with ASEAN Member Countries to Ensure Fair Trade: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said he had a fruitful meeting with Malaysia's Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tazfrul Aziz during which they discussed the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA).

Union Minister Piyush Goyal said in a post on social media platform X, "Looking forward to accelerate the dialogue with ASEAN member countries to ensure fair trade and balanced growth." The Union Minister said, "We also discussed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between the two countries." Malaysia is India's Permanent Coordinator on Economic Affairs with ASEAN.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met his Malaysian counterpart Anwar bin Ibrahim on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro this week and discussed, among other issues, the review of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement. According to an official statement, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Malaysia for its successful leadership of ASEAN and welcomed its continued support to strengthen the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including the early and successful completion of the review of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

AITIGA is a trade agreement between the ten ASEAN member countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and India. It aims to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to facilitate trade.

The agreement was signed in 2009 and came into force on January 1, 2010, as part of the framework of a broader Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). AITIGA focuses on trade in physical goods and does not cover trade in services, which are mentioned in a separate agreement signed in 2014.

AITIGA has contributed to increasing trade between India and ASEAN, with bilateral trade expected to reach $121 billion in 2023-24. AITIGA is an important step towards greater economic integration between India and ASEAN and its review is expected to further enhance trade and investment opportunities.