New Delhi: As the two-day visit of commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal to Vientiane, Laos, started from Friday, the progress of talks for the review of the India-Asean free trade agreement (FTA) in goods will figure during his visit, according to an official statement.
The minister will participate in the 21st ASEAN-India Economic Ministers (AEM-India) meeting and the 12th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers Meeting (EAS EMM). “In the AEM-India meeting, the ministers will review the progress in negotiations for review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA)”, the ministry said.
“The review is high on India’s priority to make it more user-friendly, simple and trade facilitative for businesses. Mr Goyal will have a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from participating countries on the sidelines of two institutional meetings,” the statement added.
The next round of talks for the ongoing review meeting of the India-Asean free-trade agreement in goods will be held in November. The third round of the negotiations was concluded on August 1 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The pact was signed in 2009.
ASEAN is an important trade partner of India with about 11 per cent share in India’s global trade. India’s exports to the 10-nation bloc ASEAN were $41.2 billion in 2023-24, while imports aggregated at $80 billion in the last fiscal. Both sides are aiming to conclude the review in 2025.
