India and the ASEAN nations reached an settlement on Monday to review their free commerce pact for items and set a 2025 goalpost for concluding the review geared toward addressing the “asymmetry” in bilateral commerce, the Commerce Ministry mentioned.
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 phrases of reference for the recent negotiations, forward of an ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ assembly held in Indonesia on Monday. The AITIGA review will now be taken up on the India-ASEAN Leaders’ Summit scheduled in early September for additional steering.
“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 mentioned in an announcement. “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.
