GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 12th May. The Department of Commerce, India’s Shri Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, and the Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, Malaysia’s Ms. Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade), co-chaired the 4th Joint Committee meeting for the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) from May 7-9, 2024, in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Participating in the meetings were delegates from all ten ASEAN countries as well as India.
In order to improve trade facilitation and benefit businesses throughout the region, a study of AITIGA was initiated in May 2023. The Joint Committee tasked with conducting the evaluation has convened four times thus far. Five of the eight Sub-Committees that were established to address the various policy areas of the Agreement during its review have begun their deliberations. The results of the discussions were delivered to the 4th AITIGA Joint Committee by all 5 Sub-Committee. Alongside the 4th AITIGA Joint Committee, four of these Sub-Committees convened in person in Putrajaya, Malaysia. These Sub-Committees dealt with the following topics: “National Treatment and Market Access,” “Rules of Origin,” “Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures,” and “Legal and Institutional Issues.” On May 3, 2024, the Sub-Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary convened. The Sub-Committees received the essential direction from the Joint Committee.
With an 11% share of India’s global trade, ASEAN is one of its main trading partners. In 2023–2024, the value of bilateral commerce was USD 122.67 billion. Bilateral trade will increase even more as a result of the AITIGA upgrade. The 5th Joint Committee meeting between the two parties would take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 29–31, 2024.
Comments are closed.